Voices of Wizards
by Katie of Gryffindor
Summary: WIP - To take the Hogwarts students' minds off the rise of You-Know-Who, the teachers institute a singing contest. Who'll sing? Who'll win? RR to see! CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR IS F I N A L L Y UP! The Contest is OVER! See who wins(slash)
1. Chapter 01: Rules for the Game

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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. (Though I really wish I could own Draco Malfoy… Can we say "Lick! Sizzle!" *sigh* ) I don't own the tunes to the songs. I might not own all the words. But I'm writing the story. And I'm writing most of the words. So there.

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Time Period: Midway through fifth year for the Gryffindor Trio, et al. 

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Author's Notes: From here on out, there will be no further disclaimers or notes. They will be found in a chapter following the most recent chapter, like for my other fic, _When Opposites Attract._ **And please make sure you read the Author's notes, as I will be begging for votes at some point**. Now, onward!

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Voices of Wizards

By Katie of Gryffindor

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Chapter One

Rules for the Game

Albus Dumbledore stood and looked out at his students, who were all gathered for the final meal of the day. Instantly a hush fell over the crowd, and Harry Potter raised his eyes to look at the headmaster. Dumbledore spread his arms open wide and smiled grimly. "Now, I know that all of us are under a lot of strain since the new rise of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Which is why your professors and I have decided that you need something to cheer yourselves. In two weeks, there will be a singing contest held right here in the Great Hall." A wave of murmurs traveled through the sea of students. 

A look from Dumbledore, combined with glares from Professors McGonagall and Snape quieted the students again so the headmaster could continue. "Anyone who wishes to perform is more than welcome. You may sign up with your head of house, and they will give you a date for your dress rehearsal. If you have any needs for your act, kindly speak to them at that time. And if you decide not to perform, I shall assume that you will fully support all those who are appearing onstage." Harry thought he saw a stern glance aimed at the Slytherin table, but it was gone in a second. "And this event will be attended by all in the school." More murmurs. "Yes, it is mandatory. Remember, this is meant to be a relaxing event for you all. Oh, and one more bit of information regarding the show. There will be prizes for the top three acts." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as yet another wave of murmurs passed through the sea of faces. "That, I believe, is all my announcements. Have a lovely evening, and those who wish to perform, please speak to your heads of house."

The Hall erupted in shouts of excitement and anticipation. Ronald Weasley jumped up, clapping his hands together and crying out, "Well, time to go get my song together! You two are entering as well, I assume." Ron looked to Hermione Granger, and Harry, and grinned. The pair shrugged and stood. The three best friends made their way toward the door, joining the throng of students waiting to exit. 

Harry was very silent. _Do I want to perform? What could I do? _Harry sighed and followed his friends upstairs. He didn't speak for the rest of the night, and went to bed early to ponder a song to sing, only emerging again when Ron came to tell him McGonagall was there to collect the names of the participants.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco Malfoy grinned smugly. He knew exactly what song he would be doing. He grinned and looked around the Slytherin common room, wondering what idiots from his house would be daring enough to compete against him. Professor Snape walked into the common room several hours after dinner staring down at a clipboard. "Everyone who wants to participate in this infernal contest please come here quickly. I want to get things over with as quickly as possible."

Draco was the first one in the queue. Snape raised an eyebrow when he looked up from the page, quill at the ready, to see the Malfoy smirk in front of him. "You, Mister Malfoy?"

"Certainly, sir. I have to keep up the honor of our house and beat the trousers off those Gryffindors, do I not?" Draco flashed Snape the smirk again. 

Snape reflected the look back at him and wrote down the name. "Right then. You'll be viewed on the seventeenth of January for your dress rehearsal. Two o'clock sharp."

"Thank you, sir," said Draco, nodding at his head of house and sauntering off to his bedroom. _Everyone's going to be blown away, _he thought smugly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Professor Sprout stood in the Hufflepuff common area with her students sitting all around her listening intently. She knew that at this moment, the other three Heads of House were standing in their own common rooms and reading out the same set of rules. And she was quite sure that all the students in the school would be listening carefully, just as her own were. 

"Item one: All students who would care to sing, whether it be a first year or a seventh, is allowed to perform. Age and talent matter not.

"Item two: Students are allowed to perform in groups or alone.

"Item three: All singers must attend a dress rehearsal at least three days prior to the performance.

"Item four: All costumes must be approved by the judges on the day of the dress rehearsal. 

"Item five: All songs must be approved prior to performance (at the dress rehearsal or before) so as to prevent crude language that may harm impressionable youngsters.

"Item six: The song being sung must have at least three original lines produced by the creativity of the performer.

"Item seven: All tunes for said songs must be of Muggle original.

"Item eight: All judging will be done by the heads of house and the headmaster.

"Item nine: The prizes will be as follows. Third place will collect twenty-five points for their house and receive a certificate for a shopping spree in Zonko's of Hogsmeade. Second place will collect fifty points for their house and a night on the town in Muggle London. First place will collect one hundred points for their house, one hundred Galleons, and a trip to for four to a wizarding city of their choice."

Professor Sprout rolled up the parchment and tucked it into the pocket of her robes. "If any of you has a question regarding the guidelines for the contest, please see the headmaster. Good night, all, and go to bed now." Sprout looked around the room at the wide eyes and excited expressions. Knowing that the students were not about to go to bed, she amended her statement. "Alright, well go to bed soon." With that, she turned and walked out the doorway, which was hidden by a wall hanging of a confused looking wizard, holding his wand and looking around at the ground.

She began walking down the hallway, and heard him say, "Now where did I put my wand?"

"It's in your hand, Master Konfusenberg," she said.

Master Konfusenberg looked down at his hand and saw the wand sitting there. "Ah. Yes. Last place I would have checked. Danke mein frau. Vielen Dank."

"You're welcome. Good night."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry lay in his bed, wide awake. _What in the world am I going to sing? Original words? Costumes? Oh Merlin, please help me… _He drifted off into a sleep tormented by dreams of himself standing on a stage and croaking out songs, and Draco Malfoy pointing and laughing with his friends.

~*~TBC~*~


	2. Chapter 02: Writing Songs

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Chapter Two

Writing Songs

Ron rolled out of bed the next morning and stretched lazily. He was getting quite excited about the upcoming contest. _Hopefully I'll actually do well. I could really use that hundred galleons. _He walked over to Harry's bed and poked at the still lump of covers that was Harry. "Hey, mate. Wake up. We'll be late for Divination if you don't get your lazy arse out of bed."

Harry grumbled and tugged his covers over his head. 

Ron walked back to his bed and grabbed his wand out from under his pillow. He'd slept with it there ever since Sirius Black had ripped through his bed hangings in third year. True, Sirius turned out to be the good guy, but that didn't matter to Ron. He was still almost attacked. 

Ron's mind meandered off in this direction for a few seconds before he remembered why he was getting his wand. He turned back to Harry's bed and pointed his wand at the top of the blankets. 

Ron muttered a spell and the covers wrenched themselves out of the fingers of his best friend and the boy lay there, curled into the fetal position and shivering violently. Ron sniggered and put his wand down on his nightstand. 

Harry growled and uncurled himself. "You are a bloody rotten prat. I hate you so much sometimes, Ron."

"Nah, you really don't, Harry." Ron grinned at Harry, who glared back. "So what kind of song are you singing, Mate?"

"Dunno. I'll think of something. Do you realize we have to really write the sodding song as well as sing it?" Harry looked at Ron, fear playing in his eyes. 

"It's not so bad. Just pick a song and write new words. You can handle that. And I've heard your voice in the showers. You'll be fine." Ron patted the newly-blushing boy's back reassuringly. "Don't worry. Just write what you feel, Harry."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fred and George Weasley sat in a corner, poring over a piece of parchment. 

"No, George. It should be _this,_ not _that_." Fred yanked the quill out of his twin's hand and scribbled something on the page.

"Oh, good show, man!" George patted his brother on the back and grinned. "This is going to be something no one will ever forget."

Fred nodded. "I bet not even good ol' Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs would have had such a brilliant idea." 

George grinned. "Too true, dear brother. Too true."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco sat at his desk, quill in hand, tongue protruding slightly as he wrote down some more lyrics to his song. He was determined to make as much of his selection his own words. After a good three hours of writing, he'd just about finished. _Just this one line. Damn it! _Draco's tongue swept across his lips and settled itself back in the corner of his mouth. "I something something doo doo dooooo…" He tried singing through the song, hoping to coax the line out of his mind and heart. It wasn't working. 

Draco dropped his quill on the parchment in front of him. He knew he wasn't going to get anywhere being huffy like this. He pushed the quill aside and picked up the parchment. Glancing quickly at the door and seeing the thick haze of protection spell he'd set up were still in place, he stood and started pacing the room with the paper in his hand. On his next pass, he grabbed his wand from the desk and waved it in the air above him. The opening notes of the song began to play and Draco sang his words along to the music. 

When he reached the spot he'd been working on, words started pouring out of his mouth. He rushed over to the desk, leaned on the wood tabletop and wrote down the line, speaking each word as he wrote, and singing the line over quietly to remember what he'd just said. He straightened and waved his wand again, starting the music from the beginning. His tenor filled the room as he sang the song again, this time with the feeling he knew was present in the words he'd written. A tear trickled down his face. _Damn. I even impress myself. I must be good…_

Draco wandered back to his desk and tapped the bottom drawer with his wand. The drawer pushed itself open and waited, empty. Draco sighed, looking at the sheet he'd written his lyrics on. Then he settled the paper in the drawer carefully, trying hard not to smudge the still-drying ink, and tapped the drawer closed again. He whispered a locking charm on the drawer. Draco leaned over and pulled the drawer open manually. Inside was not the parchment he'd stowed inside, but a stack of his school books. "Perfect." 

__

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus Finnigan walked into the Transfiguration classroom alone. "Professor?"

Professor McGonagall looked up from the half-graded papers at the boy standing before her. "Yes, Finnigan?"

"I have a question about the singing contest." He seemed suddenly enthralled with a spot on the stone floor.

"Yes? What is it?" asked McGonagall gently.

"Well, see-. I don't sing very well," started Seamus. "But I would like to be onstage. So I was wondering…" He cut off, blushing.

"Come on then. Out with it. What were you wondering?" The professor was getting slightly annoyed as she still had a very large stack of papers to grade.

Seamus mumbled something incomprehensible and she asked him to kindly repeat himself. "Could I do the emceeing for the contest?" he blurted out.

McGonagall's eyebrows raised slightly and her normally stern face broke into the hint of a smile. "I must discuss this with the headmaster, but since I believe you are the first to ask, I would assume that you should be allowed."

Seamus' face spread into a great smile. "Thank you so much, Professor McGonagall." He turned and practically skipped out of the room. 

"Remember, it's not definite yet!" called McGonagall. She smiled to herself though. The headmaster never rejected a request from one of her Gryffindors. _Well, _she thought. _I guess we have an emcee now. This contest is well underway._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry grinned. He'd finally found a song that he liked. _Now all I have to do is write the words. _Harry got out his muggle-made Discman and the CD he'd enchanted. He set the earphones over his ears and sat down on his bed with parchment and a quill. He closed his eyes and leaned back into his pillows. He listened to the song at least three times over before the right words started coming to him. But once they started, Harry's hand couldn't scribble them down fast enough. 

Harry kept his eyes closed for a long time after he'd written out the words, humming along with the song. He whispered the words along to the music a few times, trying to fuse them into his mind. 

Harry knew that the song could possibly start something that he wasn't quite prepared for, but he knew that it was absolutely imperative. The words had come from his heart and he could feel the power behind them. _Now if only I can get this certain someone on the stage so they can understand…_ Harry decided he needed to talk to Professor McGonagall and ask for a bit of help from her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle sat together in the Slytherin common room, staring intently at the blank parchment in front of them. 

Vin looked up at Greg dumbly. "What now?" he asked.

Greg stared back, eyes just as blank as his yearmate. "Uh… Dunno."

Vin shook his head sadly. _This ain't gonna be easy,_ he thought.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neville Longbottom smirked. Yes, he did. _Wow. I can smirk. I impress myself._ He looked down at the table in front of him. On it rested his sheet of lyrics for the contest.

Neville had decided that not only did he need to be in the show, but he needed to do something really good. He also decided that he needed to keep his performing a secret. So he came to the library where he now sat, in a corner of the History of Magic section. No one ever came to this part of the library except for Hermione Granger, and she was busy writing her own song in the Gryffindor common room with Ron.

So there Neville sat, writing out his song. And he smiled in anticipation. No one was going to even come close to expecting this song from him. And he would make sure only the necessary teachers knew. He packed up his notebooks, tucking the precious sheet of lyrics inside one of them. Then he stood and hurried off to dinner.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ron grinned. He had his lyrics sitting in front of him. He and Hermione had worked diligently to work them out. They had decided that they would sing a number together. _Thank Merlin. I wasn't really all that keen on singing alone._

Ron beamed at the thought of singing with Hermione. They'd only been dating for a month or so, and not everyone knew yet. _This should do it though. If they don't know now, they will as soon as we're done singing._

Ron grinned again. He couldn't wait. He was going to have a little surprise waiting for Hermione the day of the contest. _She's going to just die… But not really._ He couldn't stop smiling at his cleverness. 

But he did need to clear it with Professor McGonagall, just to make sure. But he was quite certain she would be more than willing to help him out. _Woman is a sappy one. Even if she doesn't look it. Or act it._ Ron sighed. He decided he would approach her after dinner about his routine. 

~*~TBC~*~


	3. Chapter 03: Practice and Memories

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Chapter Three

Practice and Memories

Fred sighed. He and Fred were doing yet another run through their performance, and McGonagall was driving him nuts. Apparently she was trying to get her house as many points as possible from this contest and she was making _sure_ all her students felt comfortable onstage.

"Professor!" cried George. "Please, we're fine with this song. We know it perfectly and we've still got a week before the contest. We'll do just swimmingly next Friday. Promise."

The professor stepped back from George, whose chin she was pushing up in an effort to make him not look at the floor. She glared at him. "Fine. But don't come crying to me when you don't win."

She stomped over to the head table and flopped down. "Well, go on then."

Fred and George shrugged and ran through their song one last time before they left. All the while, Professor McGonagall was 'harrumph'-ing in her seat, arms crossed. When the twins finished, she stood stiffly and said "Alright. Out you two. Let Mister Longbottom in when you leave, if you please."

The two seventh years gathered their props and left the room. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neville finished his song for the fifth time. He was much more comfortable with it now that he'd gotten the feel for the stage. And the fact that Professor McGonagall was so impressed she couldn't stand it helped. She had to sit down on the nearest flat space rather quickly after Neville had begun his song the first time. 

At the moment, she was trying to retrieve her jaw from its current position of almost-on-the-floor. Neville grinned sheepishly and hopped off the stage.

"Are we done for the day, Professor?" asked Neville, grinning.

McGonagall beamed at him. "Yes dear. You'll do beautifully. I must say I am quite impressed." She stood and walked with him out of the room. "Now let's leave before Professor Snape gets here and starts bragging about the talent from his house." She winked at Neville, showing a genial side of herself that was not often seen. 

They started out of the room. The pair reached the doors, and Neville, always the gentleman, stepped in front and pulled them open for her. She nodded her thanks and they exited the Great Hall.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode entered the Great Hall an hour later for their dress rehearsal.

Snape was sitting in a chair near the edge of the stage, arms crossed and looking grumpy. He looked up as the girls approached.

"Alright, girls. Let's see this performance and get the hell out of here as quickly as humanly possible." Snape glared. _How I ever got stuck with this… Damn Albus. He _had_ to do something to cheer the students up. The little brats should _not_ be cheery. The Dark Lord is coming back to power and-_ Snape was wrenched away from his mental diatribe about the headmaster and his stupidity when Pansy tapped him on the shoulder.

"Professor Snape? Sir?" She looked worried. Apparently the surge of anger toward Dumbledore was apparent on his face. He'd been so engrossed in the mental Albus-bashing that he'd not heard his student's question.

"Yes? What is it?" asked Snape, grudgingly.

"Erm, we could use your help, sir." said Millicent, blushing slightly.

"And how may I be of service?" asked Snape, quite curious now. 

"Well," began Pansy. "We're going to be singing to someone and we- um." She stopped, looking incredibly bashful suddenly.

"You what, Miss Parkinson?" prompted Snape.

"We need to practice on someone," said Millicent in a rush.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I see."

"So could you help?" asked Pansy anxiously. She batted her eyelashes at him and added, "Please?"

"I suppose so." Snape swept up to the stage and sat in a chair there as he was directed.

For the next half hour, he had to keep himself together mentally as the girls proceeded to drape themselves all over him and sit in his lap as they sang. After two runs through with the words they'd written, they decided to start singing the professor's name instead of the intended object of their serenade. 

After almost six performances of the girls' song, Snape found himself quite aroused. Even thinking about Argus Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris, in matching string bikinis didn't help quell the excitement. After all, it wasn't every day that a fifteen-year-old girl was wiggling around in his lap. Let alone two of them! He had lipstick marks all over his cheeks as well. When the girls finished off their sixth performance, he stood abruptly.

"Alright, girls. I think you'll just swimmingly." He prayed that the two young ladies would not notice how much he _enjoyed_ the practice session.

The two Slytherins smiled at their Head of House and nodded. They gathered up their books and got ready to leave. As they were approaching the wooden doors, Pansy turned back to face Snape.

"Thank you for all your help this afternoon, Professor." She beamed at him, and Snape swore she winked.

Snape cleared his throat, still affected by their performance. "Ah. Yes. You are quite welcome, Miss Parkinson."

Snape sighed to himself as the girls exited the hall. One quarter of an hour later, Blaise Zabini entered the Hall for his dress rehearsal. Snape fought with his mind to rid himself of the thoughts of the girls' song. 

Later that evening, however, he did find himself humming their song quietly. "Snapey baby…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry peered through a window in the otherwise solid oak doors to the Great Hall. He groaned softly. 

__

Malfoy. He looks like a natural up there. Harry sighed, continuing his observations. _He looks _beautiful_ when he sings. So relaxed and carefree. Wish I could hear him…_

Harry mentally kicked himself for watching Draco Malfoy. He'd been harboring a secret obsession with the blonde for the better part of a year. He didn't realize he liked his own gender until the past summer when he had several _interesting_ dreams. The first couple starred himself and Oliver Wood. But soon the dreams graduated to Malfoy, and stayed that way ever since.

Now Harry stood outside the Great Hall, wishing he could be inside with the sexy Slytherin. He sighed. 

"Oh I'm not going to do any good next Friday. He looks so _good_ up there. Shame there's a Silencing Charm on the doors…" Harry voiced the other thought that was running through his mind as he watched Malfoy practice.

"Oh, Harry. You'll do just fine."

Harry jumped and stared around wildly.

Directly behind him was none other than Albus Dumbledore.

"Headmaster! Hello, sir!" cried Harry, his heart still racing.

"I startled you, I see." Harry nodded silently. "Well, as I said. You'll do just fine in that contest."

"Why do you say that, sir?" asked Harry, interested.

Dumbledore put a hand on the young boy's shoulder and started steering Harry toward his office. "I merely have a very good feeling."

"Oh." 

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Dumbledore spoke. "You know, we had a contest like this last time Voldemort was rising to power." Dumbledore stopped walking. It was only when the headmaster said "licorice whips" that Harry realized where they were. The gargoyle bounded out of the way and let the two pass.

Once inside Dumbledore's office, the head master indicated that Harry should sit in one of the plush chairs in front of the desk. Dumbledore walked to a cupboard at the side of the room and opened it. Harry recognized it as the cabinet Dumbledore stored his Pensieve in. Dumbledore was not carrying the Pensieve to his desk. As he set the basin down, Harry looked to the older man in confusion.

"I have something I think you would enjoy seeing, Harry." Dumbledore stirred the contents of the Pensieve with his wand. Harry thought he saw his face appear at the surface for a moment, but it disappeared again as fast as it had come.

Dumbledore withdrew his wand from the silvery plasma and motioned for Harry to come closer. Harry stood and moved nearer to the headmaster and his bowl full of memories.

"Go ahead in, dear boy. No need to worry," said Dumbledore, seeing the apprehension on the young Gryffindor's face. "This is a happy memory, Harry. From the last singing contest, twenty years ago."

Harry nodded. He was wondering why the headmaster would think Harry would like seeing a bunch of wizards from twenty years ago singing and dancing around a stage. But he trusted Dumbledore, so he leaned in and peered into the basin. He saw the Great Hall with a stage not unlike the one Malfoy was still practicing on right now. He leaned forward some more and the tip of his nose touched the surface as it had the first time he encountered the Pensieve just last year. He felt himself pitch forward and fall slowly from the ceiling of the Great Hall. Harry landed in an empty chair to the left of the Dumbledore of twenty years ago. He looked around and saw he was sitting at what seemed to be the judges' table. Professor McGonagall was on his left, and there were also two witches and one wizard at the table he did not recognize. He assumed they were probably the other three Heads of House.

He looked at the stage where a tall and lanky boy, no more than two years older than Harry himself, was standing in the center. Harry had the distinct feeling he knew this boy. After Harry's eyes took in the flaming red hair, he realized who this had to be.

Arthur Weasley grinned at his classmates. "Well that was a wonderful performance, Severus." Harry's eyes flew to the audience, where a younger, happier and much less greasy Severus Snape sat. His pale skin was slightly flushed. Harry obviously entered this Great Hall just after Snape's performance. _I though Snape didn't like the idea of a singing contest. Hmm… Wonder why he's so against it now… _thought Harry.

Arthur turned his gaze to another group of students. "Now I have the extreme pleasure of introducing four of Hogwarts' best jokesters, and my roommates, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter." 

Harry gasped loudly. But the sound was drowned out by the thunderous applause echoing through the Hall. 

Four seventeen-year-old boys stood proudly and grinned at the red-head onstage. The crowd continued cheering as Harry's father and his four best friends took the stage.

Once they climbed the stage steps, the four Gryffindors positioned themselves, turned their backs to their audience, and undid their robes. As the boys began shrugging off the robes, there were whoops from at least a dozen girls, and Harry grinned. The black fabric slid off the quartet's shoulders and floated to the floor unnaturally slowly. _That had to be some kind of a spell, _thought Harry. The Marauders were wearing black high-top Converse sneakers, dark blue jeans, and brilliant red shirts. Each boy had his name emblazoned across his shoulder blades in a vivid golden yellow.

Harry sat back as they finished preparing for their act. He marveled at how much like his father he really looked. Everyone who'd known James always said Harry looked like him, but Harry had never gotten to truly see the resemblance until now.

Peter suddenly spun and started creating a percussion-like beat with his mouth. The drum-and-cymbal sounds reverberated through the Hall.

"Bpoom chish bpah-bpoombpoom chish

Bpoom chish bpah-bpoombpoom chish"

Then Remus spun like Peter and started singing a bass beat, and his surprisingly deep and booming voice filled the room.

****

"BOH-BOH-BOH BOH BOH BOHBOHBOH

BOH-BOH-BOH BOH BOH BOH BOH BOH**"**

James and Sirius spun last and grinned at each other before James started singing in a high falsetto.

"**You can tell by the way we good guys act.**

We're the Gryffindors,

And that's a fact."

Sirius grinned again and sang in his own falsetto.

__

"You can tell we're all great guys. 

Would not be Gryffies other wise."

Peter and Remus stopped their accompaniment just in time, and with James they joined Sirius for the chorus.

**__**

"YOU MAY RUN, YOU MAY HIDE,

BUT WE'LL BEAT OUT THE OTHER SIDE.

NOW YOU CAN'T STAND TO LOOK AWAY

THE LIGHT SIDE IS HERE TO STAY."

The four boys were be-bopping around the stage and singing. The next line they sang with serious looks.

**__**

"DARK TIMES ARE A-COMIN' " 

But the dark looks vanished instantly when they moved on.

**__**

"BUT NOW YOU'RE ALL A-HUMMING

'I'M STAYIN' ALIVE,

STAYIN' ALIVE.

SOON HIS HOLD WE'LL SEVER"

They linked arms.

**__**

"AND WE'LL DO IT TOGETHER 

WHILE WE'RE STAYIN' ALIVE

STAYIN' ALIVE

AH-HA-HA-HA STAYIN' ALIVE, STAYIN' ALIVE

AH-HA-HA-HA STAYIN' ALI-I-I-I-I-IVE"

Peter and Remus went back to their background sounds as James and Sirius bobbed their heads. Then Sirius started in on the second verse.

__

"Times will get low, and they'll get high,

We just have to deal and we will try."

James grinned again and came in.

****

"You have to the right, and you can choose.

But please know this: The Dark will lose."

The four boys clumped together and sang all together again.

**__**

"YEAH YOU MAY RUN, YOU MAY HIDE,

BUT WE'LL BEAT OUT THE OTHER SIDE.

NOW YOU CAN'T STAND TO LOOK AWAY

THE LIGHT SIDE IS HERE TO STAY."

They each pulled a rotten face again.

**__**

"DARK TIMES ARE A-COMIN' " 

But their faces fixed themselves instantly when they moved on.

**__**

"BUT NOW YOU'RE ALL A-HUMMING

'I'M STAYIN' ALIVE,

STAYIN' ALIVE.

SOON HIS HOLD WE'LL SEVER"

They linked arms again.

**__**

"AND WE'LL DO IT TOGETHER 

WHILE WE'RE STAYIN' ALIVE

STAYIN' ALIVE

AH-HA-HA-HA STAYIN' ALIVE, STAYIN' ALIVE

AH-HA-HA-HA STAYIN' ALI-I-I-I-I-IVE"

The Marauders grinned at their audience and shook their heads.

**__**

"WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. 

WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. YEAH.

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. 

WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. YEAH."

(Stayin' ali-i-i-i-ive)

__

Peter and Remus returned to their accompanying parts and James stepped forward again, repeating himself.

"**You can tell by the way we good guys act.**

We're the Gryffindors,

And that's a fact."

Sirius stepped up and repeated his first lines.

__

"You can tell we're all great guys. 

Would not be Gryffies other wise."

Peter and Remus stopped their accompaniment and the Gryffindor Four sang together.

**__**

"YOU MAY RUN, YOU MAY HIDE,

BUT WE'LL BEAT OUT THE OTHER SIDE.

NOW YOU CAN'T STAND TO LOOK AWAY

THE LIGHT SIDE IS HERE TO STAY."

They each pulled a rotten face again.

**__**

"DARK TIMES ARE A-COMIN' " 

But the dark looks vanished, as always, when they moved on.

**__**

"BUT NOW YOU'RE ALL A-HUMMING

'I'M STAYIN' ALIVE,

STAYIN' ALIVE.

SOON HIS HOLD WE'LL SEVER"

They linked arms a third time.

**__**

"AND WE'LL DO IT TOGETHER 

WHILE WE'RE STAYIN' ALIVE

STAYIN' ALIVE

AH-HA-HA-HA STAYIN' ALIVE, STAYIN' ALIVE

AH-HA-HA-HA STAYIN' ALI-I-I-I-I-IVE"

The boys shook their heads again while singing.

**__**

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. 

WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. YEAH.

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU YEAH. 

WE'LL ALL STAY ALI-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-IVE!

The boys repeated the last bit over and over, their voices dying slowly as they did. As they sang, they all boogied off the stage, and started dancing with the crowd.

**__**

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. 

WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. YEAH.

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU YEAH. 

WE'LL ALL STAY ALI-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-IVE!

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. 

WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. YEAH.

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU YEAH. 

WE'LL ALL STAY ALI-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-IVE!

For their last time through the words, the four seventeen-year-olds danced their way back to the stage.

**__**

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. 

WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. YEAH.

WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE. WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU YEAH. 

WE'LL ALL STAY ALI-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-IVE!

After they sang the last word, they all spun and faced away from the audience. Then, simultaneously, they all stuck their right hands in the air, pointing one finger up to the ceiling, poked their left hands down, fingers pointed toward the floor, bent their left knees and turned their heads to the left, creating four perfect disco-type poses. 

The crowd erupted in cheers, as it had when they took the stage. They broke from their disco poses, and gathered for a group hug. Then they each bent over, grabbed their own discarded robe from the stage floor, and sauntered off the stage.

Harry was ready to watch the next performance, but suddenly the image shifted. Now he was alone at the judges' table. The five judges were standing on the stage, announcing the winners. 

Dumbledore from twenty years ago stepped forward and smiled, the familiar twinkle in his eyes even then. "Well, ladies and gentlemen. The time has come, and the five of us have decided the winners."

The crowd rippled with excitement. 

Harry tuned Dumbledore out for a bit while he searched round the Hall. Then he found her. Lily Evans was sitting very close to James and was whispering in his ear. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Harry felt tears forming in his eyes, and he forced himself to look back at Dumbledore, who'd just announced the third place winners. A happy group of giggling girls were carrying a small trophy back to their seats.

"And in second place…" Dumbledore paused for effect before announcing, "Severus Snape of Slytherin House. Congratulations, son." 

The crowd clapped enthusiastically. Seventeen-year-old Snape stepped up, blushing. He looked pleased, but slightly disappointed. He took his trophy from the headmaster and returned to his seat, appraising his new acquisition.

"Finally, our first place contestants. Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter, all of Gryffindor House. Congratulations, gentlemen." The Hall seemed as though it was about to explode from the noise that was created within it. Everyone was so loud that Dumbledore's congratulations were all but lost in the racket. The Marauders jumped to their feet and ran to the stage. James and Sirius took the huge trophy and held it up over their heads. Harry beamed and clapped furiously, even if his father couldn't hear it. Then he scanned at the crowd.

Snape was fuming in his seat. It was obvious that he was seething from the Marauders beating him at _one more thing_. Harry thought it served him right. He was a bastard, after all. But then Harry reasoned that maybe at the time of this memory, he wasn't a complete ass quite yet. Then Harry felt a hand on his elbow. 

"I believe you need to go to practice now, Harry."

Harry looked to his left, and there was the Dumbledore of his time. Harry nodded and let Dumbledore help him out of the Pensieve.

Once Harry found himself in the headmaster's office again, he grinned at the ancient man. "Thank you so much, sir. That was wonderful to see."

"I thought you would like that." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at him. "But, as I said, I believe you have practice."

Harry looked at his watch. "Yes, sir. I do. Thank you again."

"You are quite welcome, Harry. Have fun at rehearsal." Dumbledore smiled as Harry turned and hurried from the room.

~*~TBC~*~


	4. Chapter 04: The Competition Begins

****

Chapter Four

The Competition Begins

Harry woke on the day of the contest with an uneasy feeling inside him. It felt as though a troupe of trapeze artists were in his stomach throwing each other around, and doing flips and somersaults. He groaned when he remembered why he was feeling so bloody nervous. _The contest, _he thought as he threw his legs off the bed.

__

Well, Potter, his mind said. _You need to suck it up and get ready for class. If your dad could do it, so can you._ As Harry showered and dressed, he kept up his pep talk to himself. _You can do it, Harry. You can do it, Harry._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day passed by very fast, as everyone was looking forward to the contest that evening. It was to take place at seven o'clock sharp in the Great Hall.

This excitement meant that not many of the students were paying much attention during classes. Even Hermione was gibbering with her friends about the imminent show. Many of the professors had expected this, so most of them tailored their lessons to fit the lack of attention spans.

Professor Sprout took the fifth years to Greenhouse Two, where the muggle plants resided. She gave each student a small spray bottle filled with plant nutrients mixed into water. Their jobs today were to spread a gentle mist over as many of the plants as possible. 

Professor Flitwick's class was spent learning a charm that everyone thought would be quite useful for tonight's performance, the Amplification Charm. It was the one Ludo Bagman had used at the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament last year. Flitwick assured the performers that he had a counter charm at the ready in case the spell backfired on them, giving them laryngitis. 

Five minutes into the class, that exact thing happened. Neville managed to gag himself quite sufficiently. When he realized what he'd done, he went into spasms from hysteria. Flitwick mumbled "_verballus_" while pointing his wand at Neville's throat. Neville let out a squeak and tested out his voice. It worked just fine again, and everyone that was paying attention to Neville's predicament went back to practicing. All around the room there were whispers of _"Sonorus" _and booming shouts of _"Quietus."_

Hagrid joined in the spirit of the day. He cheerfully taught his class about centaurs. He'd even asked Bane, Firenze and Ronan to come visit the class. This pleased the Gryffindor Trio even more than the rest of the class because Harry and Hermione got to see the three centaurs again, and Ron finally got to meet them. Not even Draco Malfoy was complaining. Although, that _could_ have been because he was saving his voice for the contest that night. 

All in all, the Gryffindors had a very pleasant day, and after dinner, the performers went up to their rooms to prepare and change into their costumes. Just before seven, the whole of Gryffindor House set off for the Great Hall together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco Malfoy proudly led his house to the Great Hall. Even as a fifth year, he had the whole of his house supporting him as leader. As he threw open the double doors and entered the Hall, all eyes turned to him. Unfortunately, only two thirds of the eyes he was hoping to see where there.

The entire Gryffindor house was missing yet, and Draco's confident smirk almost faltered. He was hoping that a certain pair of emerald green eyes would be there to see the Slytherins' grand entrance. But they weren't. He sighed and then looked round the Hall for the first time.

The Great Hall was decorated much like it was for the Sorting that began every school year. There were five banners hanging from the ceiling at the front of the Hall, one for each house, and one bearing the Hogwarts crest in the center. But unlike at the Sorting, there were no tables in the middle of the room. Where the Head Table normally stood was a raised platform with three steps on either side, and three leading to centerstage. To the left of the stage, there was a table facing the front of the room. Behind the table sat the Heads of House and Dumbledore, each in a comfortable-looking armchair. 

Where folding chairs would be sitting in any non-wizarding school, there were hundreds of plush couches, armchairs, and loveseats of various colors, shapes, and sizes for the students. The back half of these were occupied by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students. All the professors and a small smattering of family members related to the performing students sat in the first couple rows of seating on the left-hand side. _Those damned Weasleys are taking up half a bloody row of seats!_

The Slytherins moved as one to sit on the right side of the Hall, sitting as far from the teachers as possible. Draco sat three rows from the front, at the center of his row. In fact, he was last in the long row of Slytherins. The left half of the olive green loveseat he was settled on was empty. To his right was another loveseat, velvety black, containing his two uncomfortably squished cronies.

Draco checked his watch. Two minutes till showtime. _Where the hell are the Gryffindorks?_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The doors to the Great Hall opened and the entire Gryffindor house came in. Unlike Slytherin's Silver Prince, the Gryffindor Golden Boy was not at the head of the pack. Instead, he was mixed somewhere in the middle.

Ron stepped into a row first and started down it. He was walking backwards and not paying any attention to who else was in the row. He was too busy talking to Harry about their upcoming performances. Ron sat down next to someone on a green loveseat as Hermione and Harry and Neville sat on a long maroon couch. Once the four of them were seated, Ron started to sit back and relax when a drawling voice spoke from next to him.

"Oh there is no way in bloody _hell_. I am not sitting next to a Weasel for the rest of the night." Draco Malfoy crossed his arms and glared at the red-head who'd had the misfortune of sitting next to him.

Ron glared right back at Malfoy. "For once, Malfoy, I agree." He turned to his girlfriend and best friend. "I am not sitting next to this sodding prat all ruddy night." He turned back to the blonde. "Move it, Malfoy."

"You must be joking, Weasel. I've been here longer. No way in hell I'm moving." Malfoy looked round at the rest of the Hall noting, "Besides, there's no other open seats. You and I are just going to have to deal with it."

Ron stared at Malfoy. 

__

Boy, thought Harry. _If looks could kill. Both of them would be goners._

Harry shook his head and stood. "Ron, take my seat. I can deal with the slimy git. You and 'Mione sit together."

Ron stood too, looking relieved but worried. "You sure Harry?"

"Of course," said Harry. He looked pointedly at Malfoy. "The little ferret wouldn't try anything with the whole school watching." 

Malfoy sneered. "Don't be so sure, Potty," he said threateningly.

Harry smirked. He and Ron moved to change places and Harry plopped down next to Malfoy. The blonde was sitting Indian-style and his knee was poking over the line between the two cushions. Harry noticed this but decided not to argue. He pulled his legs up and copied Malfoy's sitting position. Their knees brushed each other briefly and a surge of excitement ran through him. Harry was secretly ecstatic at the fact that he was going to spend the whole next to his secret crush.

Little did he know the smirking smart ass seated next to him was feeling the same way.

Just then, Dumbledore cleared his throat and gained the attention of the masses. "Welcome, everyone! I am happy you all managed to find your way here tonight. As a courtesy to all our performers, I ask you all to please keep the side conversations to a minimum. And a note to our performers. There is no need to magnify your voices with the Amplification Charm. The stage has been charmed to amplify anything said or sung while music is being played. Speaking of music, you can start yours by waving your wand in a circle over your head. Also, any necessary changes in the appearance of the stage that the judges were notified about can be taken care of if you either snap your fingers or clap your hands. When you do that, the necessary things shall appear for you. Understood?" All the performers nodded.

"Now that all the announcements are through, on with the show." Dumbledore paused as the audience applauded politely. When they were finished, he opened his mouth to speak again. "As a special request from our first performers, I shall have the honor of introducing them. Without further ado, I ask that you please put your hands together for the fifth year boys of Gryffindor House, Mister Seamus Finnigan, Mister Neville Longbottom, Mister Harry Potter, Mister Dean Thomas and Mister Ron Weasley." The audiences exploded with cheers as the five roommates took the stage.

Once they were there, they stood side by side with their backs to the audience. Harry was in the center, with Ron on his left and Neville on his right. On the left end was Dean and the right, Seamus. They undid their robes and Harry remembered the memory of his father's performance. _Funny how things work out like this. It wasn't even me that thought of starting like this. Dean said we should start with our backs to the crows. And Seamus charmed all our robes to do that float-to-the-ground thing. Dad would have been proud._

Harry grinned. As he'd been thinking, he and his yearmates had stripped off their robes, letting them fall to the ground. The effect brought a collective "ooh" from the enthusiastic audience. Each boy had donned a black tee shirt with the Gryffindor lion in the center of his back. Across their shoulders, their first names were printed. They were also wearing light blue jean and Adidas sneakers. The sneakers were stark white basketball sneakers, and the only color on them was the set of three brilliant scarlet stripes on either side of the shoes.

Once all the robes had hit the floor, Harry whispered, "Ready?" The other four boys whispered back yeses. Then, in unison, they put their right feet back toward the audience and, while still on their toes, they all turned slowly to the right and brought their feet together. They were now facing the crowd of students, teachers and family members. Harry raised his right hand slowly and snapped loudly. A wooden desk chair appeared before him. One more snap and Professor McGonagall disappeared from her armchair behind the Judges' table and instantly appeared in the chair onstage, looking puzzled and surprised.

"Good evening, Professor," said Ron quietly to the flabbergasted woman now seated on the stage.

"Glad you could join us," said Dean cheerily.

Before McGonagall could respond, Harry waved his wand and the soft opening to "This I Promise You" began playing.

After four beats, Harry sang a soft, wavering "**oooo.**" The five boys waited 16 counts and then side stepped back and forth, snapping on the beats. Each set of snaps made five small roses appear on their Head of House's lap. The first five roses that appeared were red, the next five were yellow, and so forth, alternating colors. The professor gaped at the heap of flowers that was growing on her lap. She looked round at the boys. Then Harry stepped forward while the other four boys stayed back, still swaying to and fro. He put a hand on the professor's left shoulder, she looked up, and then he sang in a soulful tenor.

****

"When the students around you"

Harry tapped a finger to his temple.

****

"Bring bad things to mind."

Harry gestured round the hall at his fellow students. Then he grinned at McGonagall.

****

"And all that surround you

Are stupid and blind."

Harry then turned to look at his yearmates onstage with him.

****

"We'll give you strength,

We'll give you hope.

Restore what patience that's gone."

The rest of the group onstage stepped up and surrounded McGonagall.

****

"The guys you should call

Were your students all along."

Then the boys started to sing in five-part harmony.

**__**

"AND WE WILL TAKE YOU BY THE HAND,

WHEN ALL THE OTHERS YOU CAN'T STAND.

TILL OUR SCHOOLING HERE IS THROUGH,

THIS WE PROMISE YOU.

THIS WE PROMISE YOU."

All the boys except for Ron stepped back and began their swaying again. Ron stepped to the woman's left and leaned on her shoulder, looking down at her. Her face was a deep burgundy by now. Then Ron began his verse in a sweet tenor of his own.

__

"You've taught here forever.

You head Gryffindor."

He grinned at her. Then he put a hand over his chest.

__

"And we promise you never

Could we love someone more."

McGonagall's face somehow managed to get redder. Then the four boys swaying behind the singer and the sung-to stepped forward and surrounded the blushing professor again. Ron continued.

__

"We give you our word.

We give you our vow.

Ron's hand, which had dropped back to his side, came up to his chest to signify his sincerity in the words he was singing.

__

We'll always fight for the Right.

And as your friend, we'll always defend the Light."

The five boys grinned at their Head of House and the harmonies broke out again.

**__**

"JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES WHEN YOUR NERVES FRAY,

WE'LL MAKE ALL YOUR PAIN GO FAR AWAY.

TILL OUR SCHOOLING HERE IS THROUGH,

THIS WE PROMISE YOU.

THIS WE PROMISE YOU."

Four boys stepped back again, and this time Neville was the one to sing to the Transfiguration professor.

"Over and over you teach.

We'll practice what you preach."

Neville grinned at McGonagall, who managed a weak smile back. 

"Because you're in our lives, Madam,

We know anything is within reach."

Neville stepped back to his place in the line, and the boys were side-stepping back and forth again, snapping on the beat. Roses began piling into McGonagall's lap again. After five bunches of red roses and five of yellow, the boys stopped swaying and moved to surround the happily embarrassed professor and they started singing their harmonies again.

**__**

"AND WE WILL TAKE YOU BY THE HAND,

WHEN ALL THE OTHERS YOU CAN'T STAND.

TILL OUR SCHOOLING HERE IS THROUGH,

THIS WE PROMISE YOU MA'AM.

**__**

JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES WHEN YOUR NERVES FRAY,

WE'LL MAKE ALL YOUR PAIN GO FAR AWAY.

TILL OUR SCHOOLING HERE IS THROUGH,

THIS WE PROMISE YOU.

THIS WE PROMISE YOU.

The boys stepped back into their original line, still singing.

**__**

"EVERY WORD WE'VE SAID IS TRUE

THIS WE PROMISE YOU

OH WE PROMISE YOU." 

At the last line, the boys steadily leaned forward. Bending at the waists and letting their arms hang limply in front of them, they each dropped into a bow. The music faded away, and Harry was sure the enchanted ceiling of the Hall would split from the thunder created by the crowd before him. Professor McGonagall was clapping awkwardly around the pile of ninety roses resting in her lap. Harry whispered, "Guys, in three." The other four boys onstage with him nodded almost imperceptivity. "Three, two, one." 

The boys straightened steadily, taking their time raising to their full heights. Then the five boys moved to their Head of House and one by one, they seized her left hand and placed a soft kiss on the wrinkled skin. At this, tears that had been threatening to come began gushing down McGonagall's face. When she'd received five kisses on her hand, the boys lined back up behind her. 

Harry raised both hands in front of him. He clapped once, and McGonagall's roses disappeared from her lap and appeared, bundled up with large crimson and gold ribbons, on the Judges' table in front of her seat. Another clap from Harry sent his Head of House back to her seat. A third made the chair vanish. 

Then Dean and Seamus stepped forward and off the stage. Ron and Neville followed them, and Harry brought up the rear. He couldn't help but grin at the incredible amount of noise that was ringing through the Hall after their performance. 

~*~TBC~*~


	5. Chapter 05: Castigation or Admiration?

****

Chapter Five

Castigation or Admiration?

Dumbledore took the stage, a wide smile on his face and a fierce twinkle in his eye. "Marvelous, boys!" He glanced at the Gryffindor fifth-years that were just onstage. "I don't think I've seen Minerva that red in years." His twinkling eyes traveled to his deputy headmaster, who was still trying to recover from the shock, embarrassment, and pleasure that had befallen her just moments ago. He turned back to the crowd seated before him. "Now, I would like to introduce our host for the night. Please welcome Seamus Finnigan."

Seamus stood and grinned. He walked up to the stage proudly and thanked the headmaster. He was still in his outfit from his act. He clapped his hands once and blue robes with black trimming appeared where his black tee shirt and jeans had been. He looked out over the startled audience and his grin grew. "First and foremost, I would like to say thank you on behalf of my roommates. Your warm reception made singing that song much easier." The crowd clapped courteously. 

"Now, I would like to invite one of my yearmates back to the stage. He's singing on his own this time, and I say 'good for him,' how about you?" All eyes turned to Harry, who shook his head and sank back in the soft olive fabric. Even Malfoy, still seating next to him, was looking at him expectantly. 

Seamus saw the looks Harry was getting, and said, "Nope, not Harry. May I introduce none other than Mister Neville Longbottom of Gryffindor House!" Several gasps were heard around the hall as Neville stood, albeit a tad shakily. He moved to the stage and smiled at Seamus, who clapped him on the back and went to his seat. Neville turned and faced the audience. He took a deep breath. Then after a few more seconds of steeling his nerves, he waved his wand over his head and the music started. He'd heard this song when his grandmother took him to a muggle production of "A Chorus Line." He smiled, and spoke his opening lines.

__

"After a while, you caught on. I mean you knew us guys were lying. We tried to hide the scores, but you found them. On a scale ten, you girls got: 

For Looks: Ten.

For Brains: Three."

All the girls in the audience looked scandalized, especially Hermione, who prided herself on her perfect marks in class.

__

"Well!" 

Then Neville started singing in his mid-ranged tenor voice.

****

"Looks ten, Brains three.

Beauty aids in our desire,

But your IQ's could be higher."

Neville shook his head.

****

"Looks ain't it, girls.

Looks ain't it, girls.

Looks ten, Brains three.

I wanna cry.

I tried to teach you.

I tried to reach you

And tell you 'you won't get by"

Neville grabbed his chest and backside.

****

"With tits and ass.' "

Neville pretended to read a book.

****

"Gotta know some spells and charms."

He then pretended to stir a cauldron.

****

"Study potions, there's no harm."

Snape snorted at the Judges' table, saying something like, "wish he would take his own advise!" Neville ignored him.

****

"Learn some history.

These are tips you see!"

Neville grinned.

****

"Tits and ass."

Neville shook his head.

****

"They won't get you far in life. 

All you'll get is labeled a whore.

Tits and ass

Won't get you jobs,

Just 'cause they're yours."

The girls all looked slightly less offended, but still a little miffed. The guys were all shaking their heads in disagreement. Neville's smile faded. He threw his arms in the air as the music continued. "Stop the music! Stop the music!" He sighed in a huff and clapped his hands loudly. "STOP THE MUSIC!" The music stopped abruptly.

"What in bloody hell am I talking about?" Neville looked out at the crowd. He avoided the eyes of his grandmother. She was currently looking proud of him for telling the girls that looks weren't everything. He scanned the audience again. His eyes fell on a bunch of Slytherin seventh-year blokes who were shaking their heads at Neville's choice of lyrics. Neville sighed heavily.

"You know, I've been singing this song all wrong." Hundreds of eyebrows raised. "Yes. All wrong indeed. I think it's time I start singing it right. And don't worry, fellas. I'll get it right this time." All the male listeners stared up and him in wonder. Neville could almost hear the collective thought coming from the group. _What is he on about? Great Merlin's ghost, what in the blazes is he going to say now?_

Neville snapped his fingers and the music started where he'd stopped singing. He grinned and winked.

****

"You could get a fortune honey,

If you spend a little money…"

The audience looked a little confused, but the next few lines clued them in.

****

"Flat and sassy

You'll get all the bums and losers.

Beggars really can't be choosers."

Neville looked at the girls in the audience.

****

"Looks ARE it, girls.

Looks ARE it, girls."

Neville wiggled his backside at the audience.

****

"Fix that assy

Know what we'll do?"

Neville put up his fists, jabbing at the air with them.

****

"We'll fight over ya," 

He held out an arm like he was offering it to a girl.

****

"Try to get ya home, 

Because it's got to be you!"

Why?

Tits and ass.

Men all really like to stare."

Neville threw his thumb over his shoulder at his backside.

****

" 'Specially at a derriere."

Neville winked and thrust out his arms, pointing at the girls in the audience.

****

"You have got it girls,

Time to flaunt it girls!

This won't pass!"

Neville pulled out his wand pointed it into the air.

****

"A quick Engorgement Charm"

He shot sparks and a cloud of smoke out of his wand.

****

"Shake0 your booty and I want you mine!

Tits and ass

Will change your life.

They sure changed mine."

Neville grinned. The guys were all cheering for him, and the girls looked simply livid. Neville winked at them cheekily.

****

"Have it all done, 

Girl, take my advise. 

Floo on over and 

See a wizard for 

A new set, please don't think twice…

'Bout Tits and ass…"

Neville gestured to the general area where each house was seated as he mentioned them.

****

"Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws,

Gryffies, Snakes, we want it all.

Keep the best of you,

Do the rest of you!

Must you ask?"

Neville put his hands out to his sides in a helpless gesture. Then he shook his head.

****

"I have never seen it fail.

Any guy will then ask you for time

With Tits and Ass."

He nodded.

****

"Yes, Tits and Ass 

Will change your life!"

Neville ended with his legs spread, his arms in the air, and his head thrown back. He caught his breath quickly. There were loud whoops from the boys, and angry boos from the girls. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked off the stage. He winked at several of the boys as he weaved his way back to his seat. He smiled carefully at Hermione. She just crossed her arms and glared at him. 

"Looks ten, brains three? Even for me?" Hermione glared at him.

" 'Mione, it was just for the song. And besides, that song doesn't apply to you." Neville looked to Ron, who was grinning in spite of himself. "I hope you don't mind me telling your girlfriend this, Ron." Ron shook his head and waved him forward. He obviously knew Neville was in deep trouble with his girlfriend, and was pretty happy it wasn't him for once. 

"Hermione, you're smart _and_ gorgeous. So you don't need to worry about any of that!" Neville smiled tentatively at the bushy-haired fury sitting next to him.

Her rage was quelled slightly by the statement, but she still looked angry. "You won't be getting off that easy, Longbottom. You've pissed off a lot of girls tonight." 

Neville nodded. "I know. But I don't care. I did a good job singing, did-?"

He never got to finish his sentence because he was suddenly pelted by a huge mass of scarlet. 

"How dare you sing something so degrading to women! I can't believe you would dishonor the Longbottom family in such a way!" Neville's grandmother kept ranting on and beating her grandson over the head with her giant handbag. 

"It was a joke, Gran!" Neville tried to push her away, but to no avail. Finally, he got himself off the couch and started sprinting out of the room and away from his grandmother. His grandmother managed to match his pace and kept assaulting the boy. "Ow!"

Their hollering in the Entrance Hall could be heard even through the closed doors of the Great Hall.

Harry shook his head and tried to stiffle a laugh. "Poor Neville."

~*~TBC~*~


	6. Chapter 06: Flying High

****

Chapter Six 

Flying High

Seamus mounted the stage with tears of mirth still streaming down his cheeks. "Well, I think Neville's in for a bit of trouble with all you ladies, isn't he?" He looked around saw many angry faces, and was thankful he wasn't the one who'd just sung. He shook his head, smiling. "I never knew Neville had it in him. Ladies, I am sure that Neville was not serious at any point in time while he was singing. Although, he did have a point at the beginning. Looks ain't it, girls." Seamus grinned. Then he clapped his hands together. "Alright, for a change of pace, I would like to announce our first Slytherin act, Mister Gregory Goyle, and Mister Vincent Crabbe. Please put your hands together for them."

The two Slytherins stood and trundled up to the stage amid polite applause. Seamus said a quiet "good luck" to the pair as he exited the stage. Greg grunted his thanks, and Vin ignored him completely. The boys looked at each other, and nodded in agreement. They were ready. They snapped at the same time, and they were suddenly in their quidditch robes. That year, the two fifth-years were made beaters. They were not only in their quidditch robes, they had all the gear on as well. The boys glanced at each other and shared another nod. They snapped a second time, and a broomstick appeared in each hand. The audience gasped. They were each holding the newest model of racing brooms, the Lightning Strike. Smirks spread across the two boys' faces. Vin took out his wand. With a quick wave, Vin began speaking. 

****

"Why these brooms have inner magic. And super magic. All they _are_ is magic." 

Between each statement, there was a short trumpet blast and drum beat.

****

"They're our fast broomsticks!"

A disembodied voice repeated.

__

"Fast broomsticks!_"_

Music started rumbling and the boys set the brooms in midair in front of them. Then Greg sang in a baritone.

****

"_We'll get some Fleetwood's Handle Polish, _

And some Tail-Twig Clippers, yeah."

The disembodied voice returned.

"Keep talkin'. Whoa, keep talkin'!"

Then Vin sang the next line.

****

"We'll polish and we'll trim until they're faster than them all, oh yeah."

The body-less voice came back in.

"We'll get them ready! We've got to get them ready!"

Then the pair sang together, while running their hands along the brooms before them.

**__**

"With the Lightning under us, 

We'll kick ass without a fuss.

Our fancy style of flyin' 

Will keep the others cryin'

For fast broomsticks!"

The ghostly voice multiplied until it sounded like at least half a dozen people.

"Go! Go! Go! Go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go!"

Vin and Greg threw the broomsticks over their left shoulders, put their right hands out in front of them and swept them slowly through the air in front of themselves, ending out to their right side.

**__**

"Go fast broomsticks,

You're tearin' up the Quidditch field."

They took the broomsticks off their shoulders, and pumped them in and out in front of their bodies as the unseen chorus sang.

"Fast broomsticks!

Go fast broomsticks!"

The broomsticks were then thrown over each boy's right shoulder as they mirrored their previous hand motion.

**__**

"Go fast broomsticks, 

We're gonna win from here on out!"

The broomsticks were shoved out in front of them again as the chorus repeated themselves.

"Fast broomsticks!

Go fast broomsticks!"

Then the boys flexed their arms as they sang.

**__**

"We are the best!"

Then they shook their fists aggressively at the crowd.

**__**

"Crush all the rest,

With fast broomsticks!"

The Slytherins set their brooms back in midair and Vin sneered out at the crowd.

****

"We got the skills of the game and we beat everybody else."

The chorus sang "oo"s in the background. Then Greg sang his next line.

__

"A Firebolt's got nothin' on our brand new Lightning Strikes."

The boys stepped shoulder to shoulder and sang together again, gesturing to the floating brooms.

**__**

"With our new brooms in tow, 

The Snakes'll run the show.

You know we love the braggin' 

But behind us you'll be laggin'!

Fast broomsticks!

The ghostly voices started singing the refrain again.

"Go! Go! Go! Go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go!"

Vin and Greg copied their movements from the first time through the refrain, and the hidden chorus came in at the same places.

**__**

"Go fast broomsticks,

You're tearin' up the Quidditch field."

"Fast broomsticks!

Go fast broomsticks!"

**__**

"Go fast broomsticks, 

We're gonna win from here on out!"

"Fast broomsticks!

Go fast broomsticks!"

**__**

"We are the best!

Crush all the rest,

With fast broomsticks!"

With that last statement, the two boys hopped onto their brooms. A musical interlude began playing, and they showed off their flying skills. The audience was astounded at the impressive speed and precision Greg and Vin had in the air. As they were performing two identical Wronski Feint, Hermione poked Ron and leaned over. 

"That's the Wonky Faint, right?"

Harry sniggered as Ron's jaw dropped. He looked completely flabbergasted and furious that she dare call the quidditch tactic anything but its proper name. Harry even thought he heard Draco snicker next to him. Ron crossed his arms after explaining its correct name and grumbling something about her lack of knowledge on the subject being unbelieveable.

While watching the two Slytherins soaring through the air, several people in the audience thought the same thing. _It's a shame these guys aren't as smooth on the ground._

Finally, the music was almost back at the right cue, and the boys flew themselves up toward the stage. They each soared high above the stage and did matching dives at center stage. They started up the refrain again. Their hand sweeps were seen once again.

**__**

"Go fast broomsticks,

You're tearin' up the Quidditch field."

As they were sitting on their brooms, they couldn't do the same move as before. Instead, they each did a somersault in the air, switched places, and somersaulted again as the invisible chorus sang.

"Fast broomsticks!

Go fast broomsticks!"

Their hands crossed in front of them again, and again they somersaulted and switched spots.

**__**

"Go fast broomsticks, 

We're gonna win from here on out!"

"Fast broomsticks!

Go fast broomsticks!"

Then the boys flexed both arms in the air, showing off as many rippled muscles as possible.

**__**

"We are the best!"

Then they each smacked a fist into their palm.

**__**

"Crush all the rest,

With fast broomsticks!"

Then, with each repeat of the word, they alternated flipping in the air, starting with Vin.

****

__

"Broomsticks! Broomsticks! Broomsticks! Broomsticks!

Broomsticks! Broomsticks! Broomsticks! Broomsticks!"

They ended the song with a steep climb halfway to the vaulted, star-covered ceiling and a fast dive back to the stage.

**__**

"BROOMSTICKS!"

They sprang off their brooms, sank to one knee, and lowered their heads as the music ended. The audience applauded loudly. The Slytherins whooped and screamed their approval.

Greg and Vin stood slowly, threw the brooms over their shoulders again and shuffled back to their seats. 

When they flopped back on the loveseat next to Draco, the blonde Slytherin bestowed upon them a sight they had never seen before.

Draco Malfoy was grinning like a clown.

~*~TBC~*~


	7. Chapter 07: Demanding Rightful Admiratio...

****

Chapter Seven 

Demanding Rightful Admiration

__

Draco Malfoy was grinning like a clown.

Vin and Greg gaped at their fearless leader. The blonde leaned over and said, "Great job, guys! And you really wowed them with the Lightning Strikes! Nice touch."

The pair blushed furiously and turned to the stage where Seamus had again positioned himself in the center.

"Ladies and gents, a big hand for Vincent and Gregory," said Seamus waving a hand in their direction. The crowd applauded, and several people, even non-Slytherins, cheered loudly. Draco clapped Vin on the back, as he was closer. Then Seamus held up his hands.

"And now, another group from my House. Please put your hands together for our trio of beautiful Chasers, Miss Angelina Johnson, Miss Alicia Spinnet and Miss Katie Bell!" Seamus clapped enthusiastically himself as the three girls stepped up to the stage. He stepped to the side and grinned at the trio until Angelina leaned over and whispered to him.

"It's okay now. You can get off the stage."

"Oh!" Seamus came out of his reverie. "Right you are." He clambered off the stage and back to his seat. The three seventeen-year-olds onstage shook their heads, smiling. They positioned themselves in a line, Alicia on the left, Katie in the middle and Angelina on the right. Then they clapped in succession down the line, from Alicia to Angelina. With each clap, the clapping girl's robes disappeared and were replaced by a new outfit. Alicia was in tight khaki-colored capri pants. Katie had long khakis. And Angelina was wearing a knee-length khaki skirt. Each girl was wearing the same black baby-doll tee shirt with a small lion's head embroidered in the center of her chest in red and gold, white ankle socks and white, thick-soled tennis shoes. Katie whipped out her wand and circled it above her head. 

Then Alicia took a step forward and to the center. Behind her, Katie and Angelina had their elbows bent, hands fisted and were swinging their arms back and forth in front of them. Every other sway, they would clap quietly and switch sides. They sang Alicia's back-up.

__

(ooo)

Alicia pointed out to the crowd.

****

What you want, 

__

(ooo)

She gestured to herself, Angelina and Katie.

****

Baby we got it! 

Several of the boys in the crowd apparently liked the sound of that and started catcalling.

__

(ooo)

****

What you need, 

__

(ooo)

****

You know we got it! 

__

(ooo)

She grinned broadly as the whoops continued.

****

All we're askin' 

__

(ooo)

****

Is for a little respect when we beat you! 

Angelina and Katie stopped their swaying and held up one hand with their fingers posed like they were about to pinch someone.

__

(Just a little bit!)

****

Hey Baby!

__

(Just a little bit!)

****

When we beat you!

__

(Just a little bit!)

****

Yeah boys!

__

(Just a little bit!)

****

Applause rang out for Alicia as she stepped to the right of Angelina and Katie stepped forward now. Angelina and Alicia resumed the swaying and clapping as Katie sang.

__

Ain't gonna do you good 

To treat us wrong 

Katie shook her head.

__

Ain't gonna do you good

(ooo_)_

Katie flexed her arm and showed off an impressive muscle that one could only get from Quidditch. That got a load of hoots as well.

__

'Cause we're too damn strong! 

****

(ooo)

She held out her arms, indicating that she was speaking about her fellow singers.

__

All we're askin' 

****

(ooo)

__

Is for a little respect when we beat you!

The Back-Up girls stopped the swaying again and made the same hand signal as they sang.

****

(Just a little bit!)

__

Baby! 

****

(Just a little bit!)

__

When we beat you!

(Just a little bit!)

__

Yeah! 

****

(Just a little bit!)

__

Katie stepped back again, next to Alicia and Angelina stepped forward to cheers for Katie and herself. Katie joined Alicia in swaying and clapping.

__

We're not gonna give you

She put her hands on top of her chest, over her heart.

All our loving.

She put her hands on her hips.

Till you give us

What we know is comin'!

Just give us the respect that we deserve

****

(Just a-Just a-Just a-Just a-) 

Yeah baby

****

(Just a-Just a-Just a-Just a-)

When we beat you

****

(Just a little bit!)

Yeah

****

(Just a little bit!)

A musical interlude started and the girls snapped once, all together. Three chairs appeared on the stage as the girls ran out into the audience and separated. Katie grabbed Terry Boot, the new Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. Angelina grabbed Ernie Macmillan, the Hufflepuff Captain. And Alicia grabbed Draco, Slytherin's Captain. The three girls and three captains, being drug by their wrists, climbed to the stage. Each girl sat their attached Captain in a chair. Alicia plopped herself on a very surprised Draco's lap, her feet hanging off to his right side and her arms draped loosely around his neck. The other two girls sat on their stolen captain's lap in the same fashion. Alicia's cue came and she started singing to the boy underneath her. The other two girls grinned at the boys under them, turning their heads toward the audience for their back-up parts.

__

****

Oooh, your taunting, 

__

(ooo)

Alicia shook her head at Draco.

****

It's really not funny.

__

(ooo)

She poked him in the chest.

****

Guess what? 

__

(ooo)

She shook her head again and waved dismissively.

****

It won't hurt us honey! 

__

(ooo)

****

All we want you to do for us 

__

(ooo)

****

Is give it up when we beat you! 

The three girls stood up from the boys' laps and grinned. They walked around behind the boys.

__

(Re-re-re-re)

****

Yeah baby! 

(Re-re-re-re) 

****

Give it to us! 

__

(Respect!)

****

When we beat you! 

__

Katie and Angelina leaned over Terry and Ernie's shoulders and made the same hand sign.

__

(Just a little bit!)

****

Now 

__

(Just a little bit!)

The two girls straightened. Katie, who was in the middle again, pointed her wand above her head and letters flowed out as all three sang together.

**__**

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Screw with us and you will see!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

The three girls crossed their arms and leaned together, Katie in the middle, and Alicia and Angelina on either side, facing out.

**__**

Be good to the Gryffie Three!

Katie grinned and sang the main part as Alicia and Angelina sang the harmonies. She smirked at the boys as she sauntered slowly across the stage in front of the boys.

__

Oh!

****

(Sock it to me! Sock it to me! Sock it to me! Sock it to me!)

__

A little respect! 

****

(Sock it to me! Sock it to me! Sock it to me! Sock it to me!)

__

Whoa babe! 

****

(Just a little bit!)

__

A little respect! 

****

(Just a little bit!)

__

All the time, 

****

(Just a little bit!)

__

Keep on tryin'! 

****

(Just a little bit!)

Angelina grinned as she took over the lead. She followed Katie's path in the opposite direction.

You screw with us, fools, 

**__**

(Just a little bit!)

And you'll be cryin'!

****

(Just a little bit! Re-re-re-re) 

Stop!****

(Re-re-re-re) 

When we beat you!****

(Respect!)

Or you'll be sorry!****

(Just a little bit)

We'll hurt you!****

(Just a little bit)

The three girls ended behind the boys' chairs again. On the last beat of the music, they all struck poses. Alicia stood with her hands straight up above her head. Katie and Angelina threw their innermost arms above their heads and put the other arm out the their sides. The entire hall erupted in cheers, hoots and catcalls. Alicia snapped with each hand and the boys and their chairs disappeared from the stage. The Quidditch captains appeared again in their original seats, utterly baffled by the performance they had somehow become a part of. The three Gryffindor girls walked back to their seats grinning happily, 

and surrounded by thundering applause.

~*~TBC~*~


	8. Chapter 08: A Family Affair

****

Chapter Eight

A Family Affair

Seamus grinned and stepped back to center stage. "That was lovely, ladies. Very nice. I will definitely always respect _you _three!" He winked cheekily at the Gryffindor chasers who were now back in their seats. They smiled back.

"Now, for our next act, another charming young Gryffindor lady, Miss Virginia Weasley!" Seamus gestured to the girl sitting in the audience. She flushed a little but stood gracefully and undid her black robes. She revealed a knee-length, pleated black skirt and a red wooly sweater, her Christmas sweater from her mother that year. Ginny stepped up to the stage and thanked Seamus, who jogged down the stairs to his seat. 

Ginny beamed out at the audience. Then she raised her hands and clapped her hands twice. Her eldest three brothers, that had been sitting next to their parents disappeared, much to the surprise of Molly Weasley. The twins, who'd been talking to the self-dubbed "Gryffie Three," vanished as well. And Hermione flopped down on the arm of couch as her boyfriend also went missing. A split-second later, all six Weasley boys appeared in a semicircle around their baby sister. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ron looked around, rather puzzled. Then they looked down at their clothes and noticed they were all wearing blue jeans and their most recent Weasley sweaters. 

Ginny glanced over her shoulder at them and shrugged. She turned back to the audience and said, "I need a little help." Then she winked. This gained a twitter of laughter from the crowd.

She smiled again and waved her wand in the air. A drumbeat sounded and then a seventies-esque guitar riff began playing. The Weasley boys behind Ginny started bopping their carrot-topped heads to the music.

Then Ginny started singing. The boys, knowing the song because of their father's love of all things Muggle, sang the chorus with Ginny. And somehow they all guessed the one word she had to change.

**__**

"We are family! 

I got all my brothers with me!

We are family!

Get up everybody and sing!"

The boys, overcoming the shock of appearing onstage in front of the entire Hogwarts population, started getting more into the song. They started really getting down, much to Ginny's delight. 

**__**

"We are family! 

I got all my brothers with me!

We are family!

Get up everybody and sing!"

Ginny gestured to her brothers behind her and sang.

****

"Everyone can see we're together 

As we walk on by."

Her brothers surrounded her and grinned. Still bopping along, they said:

__

"And!"

Ginny grinned and continued.

****

"And our red hair shines in all weathers.

I don't tell no lies!"

The Weasley boys all drew their hands to their mouths and sang.

****

__

"Oh!"

Ginny giggled and sang.

****

"All of the people, around us they say

'Why'd they have seven?'

Just let me state for the record-

They wanted a girl and now I'm here!"

The boys all stared at her, scandalized. Then they shrugged and sang again, Ginny injecting little bits.

__

"We are family! 

****

(Yeah!)

__

I got all my brothers with me! 

****

(Oh yeah, oh yeah)

__

We are family!

Get up everybody and sing!

(Sing it to me!)"

__

All seven Weasley children bopped and wiggled to the song as they all sang together.

**__**

"We are family! 

I got all my brothers with me!

We are family!

Get up everybody and sing!"

Ginny stepped to the front and began again.

****

"Living life is fun and we've just begun 

To make our way in this world of ours."

__

The boys stopped their dancing to shout and point to the sky.

__

"High!"

****

Ginny beamed. She was loving this. 

****

"High hopes we got from our parents

Through their goals for us."

The boys all pointed to their little sister.

__

"She!"

****

Ginny stopped dancing and put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

****

"No, I don't get upset.

Here's what I say,

It's my golden rule."

She grabbed two of her brothers, who happened to be Ron and Charlie, and hugged them close.

****

" 'Have faith in me and my family.'

That keeps me strong!

Oh no I can't go wrong!"

The Weasley sons and daughter went back to dancing around the stage, each brother taking a turn dancing with their little sister.

****

__

"We are family! 

I got all my brothers with me!

We are family!

Get up everybody and sing!"

They repeated the chorus of the song five more times. With every chorus the family of redheads sang, the music faded away. When they were finally finished, the Great Hall echoed with applause. There were many loud whoops for Ginny, the loudest of which came from her boyfriend, Colin Creevey. 

Ginny was beaming. Finally she was getting the attention and admiration she deserved. She clapped her hands twice and her brothers disappeared from the stage behind her and reappeared, all wearing their robes again and still grinning. Ginny stepped off the stage and calmly walked back to her chair.

****

~*~TBC~*~


	9. Chapter 09: Surprise!

****

Chapter Nine

Surprise!

Professor McGonagall climbed up the steps to the stage and walked to center stage. A magical spotlight followed her movements as she approached. She cleared her throat and magnified her voice magically. "Our next song will be performed by none other than your own headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore." 

A collective gasp erupted through the hall as the headmaster stood up from his seat at the judges' table and started toward the stage, thanking McGonagall for his introduction. When he finally reached center stage, he looked out at the mass of students sitting before him. A broad smile spread across his lips. Then he looked down at his robes of deep purple. His smile faltered and he shook his head. 

He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the robes changed into a pair of loose blue jeans and a cotton sweater the same color as his robes were. His tall hat turned into a purple golfer's cap and his dragonhide boots transformed into worn purple Nike sneakers. 

He nodded curtly and looked back at his students, whose mouths were all dropped open in amazement at seeing their headmaster in muggle clothing. Not only that, he'd done quite well dressing himself. And to top it all off, the man was about to _sing_! His eyes twinkled happily and he cleared his throat. He waved his wand above him and music started playing.

When his cue came, he cleared his throat and started singing.

****

"I am the very model of an ancient Hogwarts headmaster.

I've seen our students go through here and come out master spell-casters.

I know the founders of our school, can recite their names much faster

Than I can sing along with this, this song is a disaster.

I asked Minerva, "Help me, please, up there." She said no, blast her.

I know Transfiguration, though at Potions I'm not master.

I'll leave that up to Severus, he's better at mixing than I.

I make a mess and get distressed when potion-making I do try."

Suddenly a disembodied chorus started singing.

__

"He makes a mess and gets distressed when potion-making he does try."

Dumbledore's hands sat on his hips and he said "There was no need to repeat that." But the invisible chorus sang again,

**__**

"He makes a mess and gets distressed when potion-making he does try.

He makes a mess and gets distressed when potion-making he does try."

Dumbledore shrugged and went back to singing.

****

"I've done some work on alchemy with my old schoolmate, Nic Flamel.

And I do wish that Tom Riddle would go away and rot in hell.

I love teaching here at this school and crank out master spell-casters.

I am the very model of an ancient Hogwarts Headmaster."

The invisible chorus came in again, and Dumbledore sighed.

__

"He loves teaching here at this school and cranks out master spell-casters.

He is the very model of an ancient Hogwarts Headmaster."

"Quite right," said Dumbledore.

****

"I know our mythic history, Sirs Slytherin and Gryffindor,

With Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff that mentions out founders four.

I knew good Merlin from my schooling here at Hogwarts in my youth.

Don't believe me? Veritaserum would show you I tell the truth.

Yes, I've told tall tales in my time, but Merlin was a pal of mine.

Extraordinary gentleman, yes, I would say one of a kind.

But as this song is about me, I'll not bore you with history.

Though seeing as I'm so darn old, my life must seem a mystery."

The invisible chorus repeated Dumbledore,

**__**

"Though seeing as he's so darn old, his life must seem a mystery.

Though seeing as he's so darn old, his life must seem a mystery.

Though seeing as he's so darn old, his life must seem a mystery."

Dumbledore shook his head and continued singing.

**__**

"I'm not so good with muggle things like chemistry and Calculus

But ask for something magical, that I can do without a fuss.

I love teaching here at this school and crank out master spell-casters.

I am the very model of an ancient Hogwarts Headmaster."

In came the disembodied voices,

**__**

"He loves teaching here at this school and cranks out master spell-casters.

He is the very model of an ancient Hogwarts Headmaster."

****

Dumbledore grinned and sang on.

**__**

"I don't like boasting 'bout myself, though this song is demanding it.

And writing lyrics is quite hard, but I still tried my hand at it.

I am headmaster and I command the Order of the Phoenix

And I must say, since I have time, I love those muggle "magic" tricks.

I've lived my life a long time, yes, for centuries you can be sure.

But to the well-organized mind death is the next great adventure.

Now my ego would love if when I'm through, you'd kindly clap your hands.

I'd like to think it's almost time to stop my song, though it's grand."

Dumbledore sighed again as the disembodied voice sang,

__

"He'd like to think it's almost time to stop his song, though it's grand.

He'd like to think it's almost time to stop his song, though it's grand.

He'd like to think it's almost time to stop his song, though it's grand."

Dumbledore puffed up his chest and took a breath.

**__**

"I see you're waiting quietly for the next act so I will go,

Since you may get impatient soon, I'll leave you, but so you know.

Yes, I love teaching at this school and crank out master spell-casters. 

I am the very model of an ancient Hogwarts headmaster."

The invisible chorus came in for the last time.

**__**

"Yes, he loves teaching at this school and cranks out master spell-casters. 

He is the very model of an ancient Hogwarts headmaster."

The headmaster bowed deeply to his students as soon as the voices were finished singing and the music ended. The Great Hall exploded in applause for Dumbledore. His eyes twinkled and he said, "Thank you." He snapped his fingers and the plum colored robes he'd been wearing when he took the stage reappeared, although if anyone had looked closely enough, the Nikes were not replaced by dragon-hide boots. He turned and walked off the stage. As he sat down next to his fellow judges, Professor McGonagall leaned over to him.

"You never asked me to help you with anything. I would have willingly!" She looked at Dumbledore indignantly. 

"I know Minerva, dear," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. "But it fit in the song, so it stayed." He grinned at her. 

She turned back to look at the stage grumpily. Seamus climbed the steps again. "Thank you very much, Headmaster! That was marvelous!" Seamus grinned at Dumbledore, who smiled back. 

Then Seamus turned back to his fellow students. "Now for the next act…  


~*~TBC~*~


	10. Chapter 10: Slytherin Love

****

Chapter Ten

Slytherin Love

Seamus turned to his fellow students. "Now for the next act, talent sprung from Slytherin house! May I introduce the dazzling Pansy Parkinson and the astounding Millicent Bulstrode."

The girls stood from their seats in the audience and proceeded to the stage. They were still in their school robes. Once they got to the stage, they turned to face the rest of the Hogwarts community. Pansy nodded to Millicent and started back down the stage steps. 

She walked back to where she'd been sitting, and everyone thought she was going to sit back down. Instead, she leaned over Blaise Zabini and Vin Crabbe and whispered something in the ear of Draco Malfoy. 

Draco's eyes grew very large and he shook his head violently. But Pansy was not about to take no for an answer. She grabbed his arm and tugged him to a standing position. Behind him, Greg Goyle pushed him toward Pansy and he stumbled into her arms. 

Pansy grinned slyly, nodding curtly at Greg and dragged a very unwilling Draco up to the stage. 

During this altercation between Draco and Pansy, Millicent conjured a chair for Draco to sit on. Pansy pushed him down on it and sent him a sickeningly sweet smile. 

Millicent grinned at Draco and then waved her wand over her head. Music started playing around her. She and Pansy looked at each other and nodded. They undid their robes and shrugged them off to the floor.

They were now wearing tight, low-cut bottle green tee shirts with silver stitching and the words _'WE LOVE DRACO' _written across them in silver sequins. They also wore black capri pants with the Slytherin serpent embroidered in green on one leg, Millicent's left, Pansy's right.

Draco's mouth dropped open as the girls positioned themselves on either side of his chair. They wiggled their hips to the music and sent him matching flirtatious grins.

Then Millicent heard her cue and began singing. She put a hand on Draco's shoulder.

****

"Draco baby, whatever you request me to do, I'll do.

Never been a good girl.

Draco baby, oh hurry out and meet me tonight."

Draco gasped and tried to shrug off Millicent's hand and stand. Pansy shook her head and sang,

__

"Draco baby, I'll show you all that you wanna see of me.

I'll wait up for you dear.

Draco baby, oh hurry out and meet me tonight."

Draco looked absolutely mortified as the girls sat down on the floor. Each girl rested their elbows on one of his thighs and set her face in her hands.

**__**

"Think of all the fun we've missed

Think of all the Slytherins that weren't kissed.

Together we'd be oh so good

You're number one still on our list."

The girls stood again and winked at Draco. He looked back, almost scared. Millicent leaned over, grinning, and placed her hand on his cheek.

****

"Draco baby, I wanna be the girl on your arm, no harm.

I'll be an angel for you.

Draco baby, oh hurry out and meet me tonight."

Millicent straightened and Pansy sat down on Draco's knee, slipping an arm around his shoulder.

__

"Draco honey, there's one thing I really do need, indeed.

I want you to be mine.

Draco baby, oh hurry out and meet me tonight."

Pansy got off his lap, and Millicent took her place. Draco, who should have been enjoying two girls fighting over him, looked nothing short of grossed out.

****

"Draco cutie say that you'll be mine forever not hers,"

Millicent threw a thumb in Pansy's direction, and Pansy looked at her in disgust.

****

"Sign your name on the line.

Draco cutie, oh hurry out and meet me tonight."

Millicent stood and each girl kneeled next to Draco, an arm around him and the other hand on his knee.

**__**

"Come and be our Man Du'Jour

And please say that you'll stay forevermore

We really are in love with you.

Let's see which of us you'll go for."

They stood again, and Pansy moved behind Draco and draped herself over his shoulders and she looked at him.

__

"Draco baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring."

She stretched out her arm and wiggled her fingers in front of him.

__

"Come on, put one on me.

Draco baby, oh hurry out and meet me tonight."

She untangled herself, and each girl went back to their original positions by his side. 

**__**

"Hurry out and meet us tonight."

They leaned down as though to whisper in his ear.

**__**

"Hurry tonight."

Each girl planted a kiss on his cheek and leaned on his shoulder, grinning at the audience.

The spectators clapped enthusiastically and many of them were laughing at the look on Draco's face. There were two bright red lip marks, one on each of his cheeks, and he was paler than usual. Everyone figured that Draco must get pale instead of blushing. He looked quite horror-struck, and he rose as quickly. He shook off the two girls that were still draped all over him and stormed back to his seat. 

Everyone around him was grinning at the performance, and Pansy and Millicent looked quite pleased with themselves. But Draco looked rather angry and he refused to speak to the girls for the rest of the evening.

The girls beamed at the crowd. They picked up their robes and put them back on, leaving them open and still showing off their outfits. Millicent waved her wand over the chair and it vanished. Then the two Slytherin girls linked arms and walked back to their seats, grinning.

~*~TBC~*~


	11. Chapter 11: A Brave Hufflepuff!

****

Chapter Eleven

A Brave Hufflepuff!

Draco stormed back to his seat. He flopped down into the olive-colored fabric, the meanest Malfoy Sneer plastered on his face. He felt a hand on his shoulder. His head whipped to the side and he was suddenly staring into the emerald eyes of Harry. The look darkened, and Draco shrugged the hand off violently. "What the fuck do you want?"

Harry winced at the sharp question, but pushed past it. "You look like you could kill Parkinson and Bulstrode. Are you alright?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "And you care because…?"

"Because I'm already stuck sitting next to you all bloody night. I don't want to deal with you while you're cranky, too," said Harry. 

Draco's eyes narrowed. "I'm fine. If I just get comfortable…" Draco turned, and leaned back against the arm of the loveseat. He brought his feet up and plopped them on Harry's lap. As he crossed his legs at the ankle, he smirked. "There. I'm feeling better already."

Harry tried to look pissed off. But having any part of Draco touching him was a bit overwhelming. "Oh, and you expect me to let you use me as a bloody foot stool?"

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yes, I believe I do," he said finally.

Harry glared at the blonde. "I suppose I'm not going to say anything that will change your mind." 

Draco smirked again and shook his head. "Nope."

Harry sighed in defeat. "Fine. As long as you're not bitching at me for the rest of the night."

"I'm not making any promises." Draco placed his hands behind his head, looking very relaxed. 

"I won't believe any of them anyway." Harry settled himself under Draco's legs. If they were going to be like for the rest of the show, he might as well be comfy too. He looked up at the stage.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus mounted the stage again. He grinned at the audience and said, "Ladies and gents, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the only Hufflepuff with enough Gryffindor blood in him to perform. Put your hands together for Mister Justin Finch-Fletchley!" Seamus started off the stage, meeting Justin at the bottom of the steps. Seamus gave Justin a friendly pat on the back. "Good luck," he said quietly. 

"Thanks," said Justin, his voice wavering slightly.

Justin stood at center stage and stared at the audience. His hands were shaking visibly as he raised them. He clapped once. And the costume change that resulted made everyone's jaws drop. 

The Hufflepuff was now standing onstage wearing a white wife-beater-type shirt under a tight, tailored leather jacket. On his legs, it looked like the leather was painted on. They were that tight. Halfway down his calves, the pants got slightly looser. This made room for the black, dragon-hide boots covering his feet. On the boy's head was a bright yellow and black bandana folded and tied at the back of his head like a do-rag. In short, the shy boy that was standing onstage now looked _hot._

Once the audience members recovered from this shocking sight, many started whooping in glee and appreciation, Justin's housemates making the most noise. This seemed to boost the boy's confidence and he smiled. 

Justin clapped again and a guitar appeared in his hands. Everyone gasped and the Hufflepuffs cheered even louder. He opened his jacket, making many of the girls squeal, and drew his wand. He threw the strap of the guitar over his head and settled it in his left hand comfortably. Then with his right hand, he waved the wand above his head. He put his wand away, and grinned slyly at the crowd. He waited a second as a drum beat sounded. Then he was strumming out a heavy guitar riff. A second later, he started singing. 

****

"I saw her dancing here in the Great Hall!

I knew she must have come alone to the ball.

I had to take a chance,

And ask that girl to dance."

Justin grinned, swaying his hips back and forth as he played and sang. 

****

"I could tell that girl from France would be with me." 

The voices of an invisible chorus came out of nowhere and yelled.

__

"Yeah me!"

****

Justin repeated the last line he'd sung.

****

"I could tell that girl from France would be with me." 

The chorus echoed their former statement.

__

"Yeah me!"

****

Justin grinned and sang again.

****

"Singin' I love rock 'n roll!

So let's go ask the band to play it louder!

I love rock 'n roll!

So come on, take the time and dance with me!"

Justin grinned. The crowd was really getting into the song.

****

"She smiled, so I got up and asked for her name. 

'That don't matter,' she said. ' 'Cause it's all the same.'

She said, 'Let's go outside.

Yeah, let's be alone tonight.'

And next we were movin' on, and she was with me."

Justin grinned as not only his invisible back-up singers, but his housemates in the audience as well, yelled along with him. 

****

__

"Yeah me!"

Justin sang the next line by himself, only to be sung with by his housemates for the echo.

****

"And next we were movin' on, and she was with me."

__

"Yeah me!"

Justin was beaming, and he started singing the chorus again. 

****

"Singin' I love rock 'n roll!

So let's go ask the band to play it louder!

I love rock 'n roll!

So come on, take the time and dance with me!"

Justin grinned broadly and started with a solo on his guitar. His housemates, as well as quite a few of the other girls in the audience, started whooping and squealing. The boys in the audience were even cheering him on. Then he started singing again.

****

"She said 'let's go outside,

Yeah, let's be alone tonight.'

Next we were movin' on, and she was with me.

This time, Justin and the Hufflepuffs were joined by a few others from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

**__**

"Yeah me!"

This boosted Justin's spirits even more and he sang.

****

"Yeah, we'll be movin' on and singin' that same ol' song!"

The crowd sang along again.

**__**

"Yeah with me!"

Justin sang one word, and then the invisible back-up singers sang the chorus of the song over and over. 

**__**

"Singin' I love rock 'n roll!

So let's go ask the band to play it louder!

I love rock 'n roll!

So come on, take the time and dance with me!"

After the second time through, the crowd joined in, as did Justin. He grinned and played the underlying guitar riff. Near the end of the fifth time through the chorus, he signaled that he was going to end the song, and the audience stopped right with him. Then they erupted in whoops and cheers. Justin was grinning like crazy still, and he snapped once. His guitar disappeared and a rob appeared draped over his arm instead. He slipped his arms into the sleeves and drew the robe over his shoulders. He stepped down off the stage and walked back to his seat. All the way there, he was getting hearty pats on the back. Several girls asked him if he would spend time with them next time there was a scheduled Hogsmeade weekend. Justin just grinned, shrugged and finally plopped into his seat next to a beaming Ernie Macmillan. 

~*~TBC~*~


	12. Chapter 12: Love Abounds

****

Chapter Twelve

Love Abounds

Seamus stepped back on the stage and grinned broadly. "That was great! Thanks, Justin." The boy looked out at the crowd. "Now it's time for more Gryffindor singing. I'd like to introduce Mister Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger." 

Ron and Hermione stood from their seats in the audience and climbed the stairs to the stage. 

Ron slipped off his robe and revealed a pair of neatly pressed khaki pants, and a royal blue button-down shirt. The top few buttons were open, showing the top of a white tee-shirt. His feet were covered by softly polished, brown Doc Marten-type shoes. A few girls squealed and he blushed.

Hermione undid her robes then and uncovered her own outfit. She was wearing a knee-length dress, royal blue to match Ron's shirt. On her feet were a pair of black t-strap shoes with a slight heel. She snapped once and her hair was wisked up by invisible fingers. In a second, her hair was the same way it was for the Yule Ball last year, perfectly straight and wrapped into a bun at the base of her neck. Quite a few of the boys in the audience whooped and whistled in appreciation. It was Hermione's turn to blush, and Ron tried contain the glare that was threatening to mar his features.

"Ready?" he whispered to Hermione. She nodded slowly.

Ron drew his wand and waved it to begin the music. The opening notes began playing throughout the Hall. He looked at Hermione and smiled. The smile was returned tentatively.

Then came Ron's cue, and his throat let out a soft tenor.

****

"If I never loved you,

If I'd never won your heart,

I don't know just where to start 

To tell how glum I'd be."

Ron took Hermione's hand in his and looked her right in the eyes.

****

"And if I never loved you,

I would not have been the same."

As Ron sang the next line, he looked to the heavens shown on the enchanted ceiling.

****

"Thank the gods I found in you 

The better half of me."

Ron's eyes ventured back to his girlfriend's face.

****

"In this world so full of fear,

Full of rage and lies

I can see the truth so clear

In your eyes

So dry your eyes."

Ron's fingers had found their way to Hermione's face and he wiped away a tear that had actually formed while he sang to her.

****

"And I'm so thankful for you

'Cause I'd've lived my whole life through

Lost forever

If I never loved you."

Hermione sighed and smiled at Ron. She thanked Merlin she had a few seconds to recover from that look in Ron's eyes as he sang. Then came her cue, and her alto began.

__

"If I never loved you,

I could never feel this free.

Never knowing what love could be

If I didn't have you."

****

Hermione stepped closer to Ron and slipped a hand around his waist and put her hand on his cheek.

****

__

"And I'm so thankful for you

'Cause I'd've lived my whole life through

Lost forever

If I never loved you."

****

Ron grinned and sang

****

"I never knew love was this beautiful."

Hermione grinned back and countered,

****

__

"With you my whole world seems so right."

****

The pair turned away from each other to look at the audience.

**__**

"I never thought feelings could be as strong as this,

But now I can tell you that love is simply bliss. 

And now my heart will fly with just one kiss."

The singing couple turned to each other again and looked into each other's eyes, smiling. Hermione started again.

__

"Oooh! If I never loved you,"

Halfway through her line, Ron began,

****

"There's no time that I lament"

__

"If I never knew your love,"

****

"In the time that we have spent."

__

"I would never have a clue"

****

"If the heav'ns fell from above

__

"How happy I can be"

****

"At least I've loved…"

__

Their arms wrapped around each other's waists and they beamed, singing.

**__**

"I never knew love was this beautiful.

With you, my whole world seems so right."

__

With you, my whole life is so beautiful.

Because of you, my future is so bright.

****

"And always my heart sings 

We are right."

Ron grinned.

****

"We are right.

And if I never loved you"

Hermione echoed.

__

"If I never loved you"

She reached up and stroked his cheek.

__

"I would never know"

He leaned into the touch and joined in.

**__**

"Love would never show.

Lost forever

If I never loved you."

The couple stared into one another's eyes, seeing all the feelings they'd just sung aloud displayed there. The music faded out with them still standing there in each other's arms, beaming at each other. Ron pulled her close and hugged her tightly. "I love you, 'Mione," he whispered. 

She returned the hug in full force. This was the first time he'd ever told her he loved her. A tear ran down her cheek as she squeezed back. "I love you too, Ron."

The crowd exploded in applause for the pair. They were startled out of their Hallmark moment and realized they were still onstage. Hermione smiled to the crowd, embarrassed. She started walking off the stage.

Ron grabbed her arm. "Wait."

~*~TBC~*~


	13. Chapter 13: Hermione's Surprise

****

Chapter Thirteen

Hermione's Surprise

Ron grabbed Hermione's arm. "Wait." Ron had not moved to leave the stage at all.

Hermione stopped at Ron's command. She was already blushing more than anyone should ever have to whilst in public. Fighting the urge to scramble off the stage without her beau, she turned back to Ron. Questions were swirling uncontrollably around in her mind. She walked slowly back to her boyfriend and stood in front of him. The questions were very obvious in her eyes as she gazed up into Ron's eyes.

Ron smiled down at his confused, and suddenly nervous, girlfriend. He drew his wand and conjured a stool for her. "Sit," he said quietly.

"What-?" she started. Ron brushed the question away with a shake of his head.

"Sit," said Ron, more forcefully this time. He pointed at the stool. She sat.

Ron waved his wand in the air like he had before their song together. But this wasn't the music for their song. It was something entirely different. Hermione was even more confused now than she was before.

Ron grinned sweetly at Hermione and waited for his cue. Hermione just sat there, her hands being wrung by one another with anxiety. When it finally came, his tenor rang out through the Great Hall for the second time that afternoon.

****

"Unforgettable. That's what you are.

Unforgettable. My Shining Star."

Hermione's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe Ron had kept a secret like this from her. Ron stepped up to her and cuffed her chin lightly.

****

"Just the thought of you does things to me.

You're the reason my heart sings to me."

At this line, Ron placed his hand on his chest and beamed at Hermione. She beamed back at him, tears forming in her eyes again.

****

"Never before,"

Ron shook his head and reached out to stroke Hermione's cheek lightly. 

****

"Has someone meant more."

She leaned in to the barely-there touch, smiling.

****

"Unforgettable, in every way.

Unforgettable what can I say?"

Ron shrugged, a sheepish grin on his lips. He stepped so that he was standing beside Hermione, and he put an arm about her shoulders. He squeezed as he sang the next lines.

****

"That's why 'Mione, 

it's incredible that someone 

so unforgettable 

thinks that I am 

unforgettable too."

Ron pulled Hermione off the stool and started dancing her around the stage to the instrumental break in the song. 

Hermione stared up at her boyfriend, swearing that if she didn't know any better, she would think this sweet guy was the little-known sixth member of some Muggle boyband. She tried to stop staring at Ron, but this surprise he had for her was just too much. "I can't believe you're singing 'Unforgettable.' I love this song."

Ron nodded. "I know. I remember."

"What do you mean you remember?" Hermione tilted her head to the side.

Ron grinned. "You told me over the summer a couple years ago."

Hermione couldn't help but gape at him. "I can't believe you remember that."

Ron just shrugged. They lapsed into silence. Ron listened intently for his cue. When he heard it, he sang again.

****

"No, never before

Has someone meant more.

"Unforgettable, in every way.

Unforgettable what can I say?

"That's why 'Mione, 

it's incredible that someone 

so unforgettable 

thinks that I am 

unforgettable too."

Ron danced his girlfriend around the stage a bit more as the song finished. On the last chord, he reached behind his back and snapped his fingers quickly. 

Ron's next few actions seemed to Hermione to be in excruciatingly slow motion. When he brought his hand back, there was a long-stemmed red rose sitting between his fingers. He sank to one knee and raised the rose to Hermione's level. She took the rose, tears streaming down her face. 

Then she grabbed his face between her hands and pulled him back to standing again. She kissed him passionately and wrapped her arms around his neck. The pair lost themselves in the kiss, forgetting that not only were they onstage, but their entire school, _and_ their families were all sitting in the audience watching them. They stayed in the embrace until a catcall from the crowd brought their heads flying back into the world. 

Hermione broke away from the kiss abruptly, turning the same color as the rose she clenched tightly in her hand. There were still loud whoops and catcalls coming from the onlookers. She looked up at Ron, too embarrassed to look anywhere else.

Ron was beaming back at her, loving her reaction to his song. He leaned in and said quietly, "I think it's safe to say everyone knows about us now."

She managed a weak smile. "I suppose they do know, don't they."

Ron took her hand confidently and they started back to their seats.

~*~TBC~*~


	14. Chapter 14: Oh Captains, Their Captains

****

Chapter Fourteen

Oh Captains, Their Captains

Harry jumped to his feet, whooping and cheering his best friends along with most of the rest of the school. In the process, Draco's feet were thrown off the comfortable pillow that was Harry's lap. 

"Watch it, Potter!" cried the indignant Slytherin. Draco glared up at the Gryffindor. "My _feet_ were there, Scar Face."

Harry glanced down at Draco, an exasperated look on his face. He shrugged once. "Sorry," he said, with not a shred of apology in his voice.

Draco crossed his arms, a childishly angry pout sitting on his features. He watched jealously Harry folded Hermione and Ron into a congratulatory hug. The smile lighting Harry's face was entrancing to Draco, and he couldn't help but stare. 

The famous Gryffindor Trio sat down finally, along with the rest of the audience. As soon as Harry's backside met with the soft cushion of the couch, Draco's feet were flipped back onto Harry's lap. A satisfied smile set itself onto Draco's face as he stretched his arms and then tucked his hands behind his head.

"Hey," yelped Harry in surprise. "Geez, Malfoy. That could have really hurt… Could you at least let me get a bit comfortable before you put your smelly feet all over me?"

Draco took on a look of mock offense. "Smelly feet? Me? Never. I have always, and will always smell like a bed of freshly blooming roses, Potter. I do _not_ smell." He crossed his legs at the ankles and smiled genuinely at Harry. "But I suppose I could let you actually sit down first."

Harry was caught a bit off-guard at the real smile illuminating Draco's face. He shook himself quickly and replied a simple "thank you." Then both he and his Slytherin enemy-turned-seating-companion turned their attention back to the stage where Seamus was back onstage and about to introduce the next act.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Wasn't that the sweetest display of affection you've ever seen, ladies and gentlemen?" Seamus smiled at Ron and Hermione, whose faces were now both matching Ron's hair in color. "Another round of applause for the happy couple, if you please." 

The audience clapped cheerfully for the couple once more. Hermione nodded her thanks and Ron did a little wave of recognition. 

"Now then." Seamus glanced down at a small card that held the line-up of performers and the introductions for each. Seamus smiled secretively. "The next group has asked that they not be announced by name or house. They asked that I only inform you all that you are about to view one fabulous performance." Seamus' smile grew even larger. "And I can tell you one thing. They are absolutely right." Seamus smiled again and stepped down off the stage.

As Seamus sat down, a murmur started surging through the crowd. For the last ten acts, the performers were already on the stage and setting up by the time Seamus was back in his seat. But now- Now there was no one moving to take the stage. Heads were pivoting, looking for some kind of indication of who would be taking the stage. But nothing was seen. No one was moving. 

Unbeknownst to their classmates and families, the performers had all agreed during their last practice that they would all stay seated, and none of them would move to start the song until a full minute had passed after their introduction was made. 

Suddenly, a phantom voice spoke. 

"Where's all my soul captains?

Lemme hear ya'll flow, captains!"

Four male voices were heard, scattered around the room. But no one saw anybody's lips moving.

**__**

"HEY CAPTAIN, GO CAPTAIN, YO CAPTAIN, FLOW CAPTAIN!

HEY CAPTAIN, GO CAPTAIN, YO CAPTAIN, FLOW CAPTAIN!"

Then, a single fifth year, Terry Boot of Ravenclaw, stood proudly. He was holding his Nimbus 2000 in his hand. And he was decked out in all of his Quidditch gear. The royal blue robes looked sensational on him, bringing out the sparkle in his eye. Before anyone had the chance to realize who it was, he started singing in a powerful tenor.

" 'Twas from Madame Hooch that we first learned the game

That consumes our every thought."

Terry strode confidently down his row, past all his friends, and out into the aisle that led to the stage. He started up the aisle, smiling at Madame Hooch and winking cheekily.

****

"She said, 'Hey there,

Don't stare,

Wanna get in the air?' "

****

The professor smiled back at Terry as the boy neared the stage. From their places among the other audience members, Terry's fellow performers sang along as he came to the chorus of the song.

**__**

PITCHES, SNITCHES

ABRA CADABRA

PITCHES, SNITCHES

FLY AWAY

HOCUS POCUS

ABRA CADABRA

QUIDDITCH, OUR PASSION TRUE

VOULEZ-VOUS VOLER AVEC MOI, CE SOIR? 

VOULEZ-VOUS VOLER AVEC MOI?

It was definitely four boys singing the song, but no one's lips were moving save Terry Boot, who had finally reached the stage. As the chorus ended, though, a flash of yellow signaled the revealing of another of the performers. 

Ernie Macmillan was also holding his broom, also a Nimbus 2000. He, too, was dressed in full Quidditch robes. He grinned up at Terry as he started singing his verse in his own clear tenor.

"WE LEARNED HOW TO FLY AND WE CONQUERED THE GAME" 

He left his seat next to Justin and strode toward the stage, winking at girls as he passed.

"BOY, WE ALL WERE TRAINING HARD"

Ernie flexed his free arm and grinned as a couple girls nearby squealed in delight. The grin grew as pride took over.

"THEN CAPTAIN WE EACH GOT, 

WE WON THE HIGHEST SPOT, YEAH"

He, Terry and the other two mystery singers repeated the chorus again.

**__**

PITCHES, SNITCHES

ABRA CADABRA

PITCHES, SNITCHES

FLY AWAY

HOCUS POCUS

ABRA CADABRA

QUIDDITCH, OUR PASSION TRUE

VOULEZ-VOUS VOLER AVEC MOI, CE SOIR? 

VOULEZ-VOUS VOLER AVEC MOI?

By the end of the chorus, Ernie had joined Terry on the stage, and people were searching around, waiting for the next boy to make his appearance.

Draco Malfoy swung his legs off Harry's lap, gaining a slight eyebrow-raising and a smirk from Harry. In a second, Draco was shrouded in emerald green and holding his precious Nimbus 2001. A few people gasped as they watched the Slytherin break out in a rap. Draco smirked and started sauntering up to the stage, making sure to take his time.

****

"Yeah, yeah, uh

We come through with the snitches and the Quidditch Cups

See, 'cause we're out for their blood, face in the mud"

Draco made a fist and then gestured to the ground. He shook a fist again.

****

"We beatin' all the others and we're jackin' up the scores

I'm saying, why bust my butt when I can beat yours!

Disagree, well that's you and I'm sorry"

Draco shrugged, a look that clearly said 'too bad for you' painting his features.

****

"I'm-a keep playing my game rough- Give up? Hardly.

Play hard on the pitch, get love from the chicks"

Draco shook his head and then flexed his muscles, in clear view of as many girls as possible. He was rewarded with several happy squeals and a couple whistles. He grinned and continued.

****

"Four bad ass captains for Hogwarts Quidditch.

Hey captains, yo captains!

Betta get that goal captains"

Draco took his broom off his shoulder where it had been sitting and set himself on it. He kicked off, soaring high into the air.

****

"We fly high with brooms under our ass,"

He patted the boom handle lovingly.

****

"Flyin' right, you'll never reach up to our height

We gonna Hocus and some Abra

Pocus and cadabra

Quidditch, our passion true

(one more time, c'mon)"

Draco had flown toward the stage and was now easing himself down next to Ernie. They grinned amiably at each other and then continued singing, along with the final mystery singer, the only Quidditch captain that hadn't yet appeared. Gryffindor's captain.

****

__

"PASSION TRUE,

OUR PASSION TRUE

PASSION TRUE…"

__

"Hey, hey, hey!"

****

Harry Potter had a great smile dancing on his lips. He was now hovering about five feet in the air, sitting on his Firebolt and dressed in his scarlet Quidditch robes. Ron and Hermione, along with the rest of his schoolmates, were staring up at Harry. He could practically hear the thought floating through each and every person's mind. _Are Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy really singing a song _together_?!? Are they feeling ill?_ Harry grinned at his captive audience as he started singing.

__

"Touch of the wind blowin' through our hair"

Harry ran his fingers through the infamously messy hair.

__

"Flying out over the pitch"

Harry leaned back on his broom, stretching his arms out to his sides. His eyes were closed and he had a look of intense concentration on his face. 

__

"Makes the savage beast inside

Roar until he cries 

'More, more, more' " 

Harry's eyes snapped open, and the need in them made at least half the crowd below him weak in the knees. He nearly screamed the last word, sending a wave of excitement through the audience. Harry flew quickly to the stage where the rest of the captains were bopping together, dancing along to their back-up music.

Ernie grinned at Harry as he landed next to Draco, and started dancing around. Ernie turned his grinning face to the audience. He gestured to the other three captains.

"NOW WE'RE UP HERE, YEAH ALL ON ONE SIDE"

Terry nodded and grinned too.

"Showing what truces are like"

The four boys linked arms, grinning at each other and then at the faces of their classmates. Harry nodded a little toward Draco and then sang his next line.

__

"And though rivals you see, together we'll be…"

The boys let go of each other. Terry and Ernie glanced at each other and each threw a fist in the air.

**__**

"MORE!"

An exchanged glance between Harry and Draco, and two more fists were thrown into the air.

**__**

"MORE!"

They all then threw their arms over the others' shoulders and Harry and Terry threw up their free hands.

**__**

"MORE!"

They let go at the same time and started dancing around again. They split and danced their way into the audience, getting the crowd up and dancing as well. All the time, they were singing the chorus one more time.

**__**

"PITCHES, SNITCHES

ABRA CADABRA

PITCHES, SNITCHES

FLY AWAY

HOCUS POCUS

ABRA CADABRA

QUIDDITCH, OUR PASSION TRUE

VOULEZ-VOUS VOLER AVEC MOI, CE SOIR? 

VOULEZ-VOUS VOLER AVEC MOI? (Oh, my captains, yeah!)

**__**

VOULEZ-VOUS VOLER AVEC MOI, CE SOIR? 

VOULEZ-VOUS VOLER AVEC MOI? (oooh) **(C'mon, uh!)**

The same voice that had called to the captains at the beginning spoke again. "Hey Harry!"

Harry stopped dancing with a Hufflepuff second-year and hopped onto his broom. As he sang, he flew back up to the stage.

__

"Hey Qui-i-i-i-i-i-i-dditch!"

The voice called again. "Ernie!" 

Ernie left his Slytherin seventh-year dancing partner to hop onto his own broom and fly up with Harry.

"OUR PASSION TRUE!"

Again, the voice called out. "Draco!"

Draco left the Ravenclaw fourth-year and flew up next to Harry and Ernie.

****

"Hey, hey, uh uh uh uh uh uh uh"

The voice called a last time. "Terry!"

Terry left the Gryffindor third-year behind and flew up to the stage.

"Oh-oh oooooh"

Harry and Draco tossed an arm around each other carelessly and sang together.

**__**

"Together baby"

Terry and Ernie adopted the same stance.

"BABY!"

__

Each boy sang one last line alone. They let go of their fellow captains and each boy as he sang sent a stunning smile out to the audience, much to the enjoyment of all the girls, and many of the boys, in the mass of students before them.

__

"Oo-ooh!"

"QUIDDITCH, YEAH!"

"Dah-doo, dah doo"

****

"Hogwarts Captains here"

Harry and Draco turned their backs to each other, as did Ernie and Terry. They pulled their brooms to their chest and crossed their arms.

**__**

"QUIDDITCH, OUR PASSION TRUE… 

OH YEEEEEEES-AH"

At the last note, each boy leaned back onto their rival captain and turned their heads to look over their shoulders. Terry and Ernie smiled pleasantly at each other. Harry and Draco sneered at each other for a second and then each adopted a wide grin. 

Harry winked at Draco quickly, an action that was observed by only two people in the entire Great Hall. 

Draco sent a quick wink back. 

Albus Dumbledore's eyes just twinkled merrily.

~*~TBC~*~


	15. Chapter 15: Boo!

****

Chapter Fifteen

Boo!

As the Quidditch captains finished their performance, grins spread across all four faces. The mass of students, teachers and family members sat in silence for a moment. No one knew what to think of the four boys standing on the stage. Each was a harsh competitor, always fighting with at least one of the other boys on the stage. And here they all were, grinning like they had all been best friends for years. 

The first to stand and applaud were the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Fred and George Weasley whooped loudly. Katie, Alicia and Angelina screamed shrilly in support of their captain. Ron was just clapping, a stunned look on his face. After the example was set, the rest of the Quidditch players were on their feet, cheering their captains, some wearing the same astonished stare Ron wore, others just happy to see a lull in the intense rivalry. 

Finally, the rest of the people in the audience came to their senses and applauded. Most were too stunned at the friendly actions shared by Slytherin's infamous bad boy and Gryffindor's legendary goodie two-shoes to do more than clap loudly. 

Terry and Ernie separated first, with Draco and Harry following suit an instant later. They all grinned jovially at each other before splitting and going to their seats. Harry and Draco just walked off the stage together, since they _were_ sharing a loveseat. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco moved into the aisle first, gaining incredulous looks from every Gryffindor as he passed. As he was easing himself onto the soft olive fabric, Vin and Greg leaned over and hissed at Draco.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"What was that all about?"

Draco shrugged at his two friends. "Calm down, boys. It was just one song."

The two hefty Slytherins looked utterly scandalized. "Why didn't you tell us about it?" asked Greg, the beginnings of a whine tainting his voice.

Draco looked down his nose at Greg. "Would you really have been able to keep _that_ a secret?" He shook his head. "I highly doubt it."

Vin looked as though a pout was about to form on his lips. "We could too."

Draco merely raised an eyebrow at his friends. He shook his head again and settled back into his half of the loveseat. He glanced over to where Harry was still having a quiet discussion with his own friends. _Would the Mudblood and Weasel leave him be already?_ Draco's legs twitched involuntarily. _I need to put my feet up after that performance…_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry followed Draco down the row. He, too, was getting surprised stares trained on him from his housemates. Harry tried to ignore them and just watch where he was going. Unfortunately for him, or maybe fortunately, the only place Harry could look without seeing the gawping of his classmates was straight ahead. 

And straight ahead was Draco Malfoy's rear end. 

Harry fought hard to keep from drooling over Draco. He took a deep breath and just kept moving. Finally, Draco's backside was hidden from view as he plopped into their shared seating. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and set himself down next to Draco. 

As he did, Hermione and Ron leaned over to speak to him.

"What in Merlin's name were you thinking? Are you _mad_?" cried Ron. 

Hermione batted at her boyfriend's arm. "Be quiet Ron. We've already had enough attention on us this afternoon." Then Hermione turned to look at Harry. "But really Harry. Why on earth didn't you tell us about this?"

Harry just shrugged. "I didn't think you would believe me. Besides. It's no big deal."

"No big deal?" screeched Ron. He took a moment to compose himself and then he repeated. "No big _deal_, Harry? Really, are you mad? You've just been onstage. Singing. With _Malfoy_." 

Harry nodded, the hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I know. It was Terry's idea. He caught each of us after practice a couple days ago. We've been practicing as much as we could on the pitch so no one would see us."

Hermione's eyes lit up as she put two and two together. "So _that's_ why you kept leaving for Quidditch practice without taking Ron or anyone else with you!" Harry nodded, a smile fighting its way through his nonchalant façade. Hermione's eyes grew brighter still. "And that's why you didn't mind switching seats with Ron so he wouldn't have to sit with Malfoy!"

Harry nodded again. "Yep. I've kind of grown used to the git while we were practicing together." He glanced over his shoulder at the blonde, who was settling himself into the cushions. "Even though he _is _the biggest pain in my ass I've ever met." Harry shrugged again. "It's really no big deal." 

Before either of his best friends could say anymore, Harry turned away and sat back into the soft padding of his seat. Once he was settled, he found his lap full of Slytherin feet yet again. 

"You and your little friends discuss things far too much, Potter," drawled Draco as he got himself situated. 

Harry just smiled. He set one elbow on the arm of the loveseat and draped the other lazily over Draco's legs. Harry glanced at his seatmate, realizing that today might be the end of the rivalry he and Draco had harbored for so many years. He grinned at Draco. 

Draco merely raised an eyebrow and then smirked at the Gryffindor. He wiggled once more, digging a heel into Harry's leg just enough to make Harry yelp. 

Harry sighed, putting his chin in his upturned hand. _Then again, maybe not._ His eyes left the pale face of the Slytherin and ventured up to where Seamus was again standing at center stage.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus grinned at the audience. They were still chatting quietly about how surprising it was to see Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter standing together on the stage. 

Seamus spread his arms wide and smiled. "Now didn't I tell you that was going to be fabulous?" The crowd erupted with applause, and Seamus' smile grew even more. "Now that they're through, I'm allowed to tell you all who they are, as if you didn't know. That was Terry Boot of Ravenclaw, Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff, Draco Malfoy of Slytherin and Harry Potter of Gryffindor. Let's give our Quidditch captains another big hand!" 

Everyone whooped and cheered the boys again. Terry and Ernie stood, waving. Draco, and therefore Harry as well, merely grinned broadly and waved. 

"And now it is my privilege to introduce our next act. Our second, and final, non-student performance for tonight will be brought to us by the Ghosts of Hogwarts!" Seamus grinned and made his way off the stage.

From somewhere behind everyone, there was the sound of a door creaking open, and footfalls could be heard going up the aisle toward the stage. But no ghosts could be seen. In the distance, a wolfish howl was heard, sending shivers down everyone's spines. Then music started and the howling continued. It sounded as though the howling was coming from the Dark Forest. The first and second years all started huddling closer to each other.

Finally, the raspy ghost of a voice started to sing.

****

"It's getting scary

And something's lurking, hiding in the walls

Try not to tarry

'Cause there are spirits haunting every hall"

Suddenly a translucent man appeared on the stage. His clothing was distinguishable even though it was just as transparent as he was. A black fedora was atop his head, tilted down to hide his face. He was wearing a red leather jacket and black pants that were a bit too short for him. Black shoes covered his sheer feet, and white socks peeked out between pant and shoe. There was a shimmering white glove on one hand. 

****

"A ghost you've spied

You run away wishing for ghost-free shelter

You want to hide

But we'll come out and right before your eyes

Materialize"

Several ghosts drifted out of the walls around the crowd. They floated over the mass and grinned down at their captive audience. But as all the living beings noticed, none of these ghosts were the one singing. Everyone figured it must be the ghost onstage that was singing.

Then the red-and-black clad ghost lifted his head. It was Peeves. He leered at the scared looks on the younger students' faces, and then cackled. He along with the ghosts already present started singing the chorus. More of the ghostly residents of Hogwarts Castle appeared as the chorus progressed.

****

__

" 'Cause you're at Hogwarts!

Hogwarts ghosts

Come out in day or night,

And we can all give you a fright

Ya know it's Hogwarts!

Hogwarts ghosts-

You want to flee the school

Instead you

Have to 

Get through

The years!"

Peeves took off his hat and grinned evilly at the people sitting in the front rows. He swept his gloved hand out to the side.

****

"You hear the door slam 

And realize there is nowhere else to go"

He put a hand up to his cheek as the ghosts flew out over the masses, sending wave after wave of chilly air over everyone.

****

"You feel the cold breeze 

You're trapped with one of us, yeah, doncha know"

Peeves covered his eyes, a look of mock fear on his face.

****

"You close your eyes

And hope this life is your imagination

But all the while"

He threw a thumb over his shoulder as he uncovered his eyes.

****

"You feel our presence comin' from behind

You're outta time!"

Even more ghosts appeared out of nothingness, joining Peeves and their fellow apparitions in singing. They all leered down at the children as they sang.

****

__

" 'Cause you're at Hogwarts!

Hogwarts ghosts-

Hogwarts is where we stay"

Several dozen ghostly fingers were suddenly pointed at Albus Dumbledore while the ghosts smirked.

**__**

"Headmaster won't send us away

Hogwarts!

Hogwarts ghosts- 

You cry 'please send me home'

Instead you

Have to 

Get through

The years!"

Peeves grinned out at his spectators.

****

"Night keeps on comin' and ghosts keep up their evening hall patrol"

The ghouls that were hovering nearby Peeves took on soldier-like stances and marched in a line behind the poltergeist. At the next line, each of the "patrolling" ghosts shook their fists at the crowd and sneered.

****

"There's no escaping the wrath of the spirits ahead

There's someone waiting for you!"

Peeves pointed out toward the audience.

****

"We're out to get you

We're coming out to give you all a shock

And we won't let you"

The poltergeist shook his head and spread his arms out wide. The ghosts behind him started to strain against his arms, as though they were trying to get past him.

****

"Scamper off 'cause all your paths are blocked

Now's not the time

For you to try and flee since you'll be denied

Tonight's the night"

Peeves stepped off the stage and flew over to a bunch of first year girls from Hufflepuff.

****

"We'll huddle close, you'll never leave the scene"

He pulled face and a couple of the girls squealed in fright. Peeves smirked nastily.

****

"We'll make you scream"

Peeves and the rest of the spirits floated around over the crowd, pulling faces and occasionally fussing with a nearby student.

**__**

" 'Cause you're at Hogwarts!

Hogwarts ghosts-

Hogwarts is our abode

And we won't leave you kids alone

Hogwarts!

Hogwarts ghosts-" 

Each ghost wiggled their way in between students, putting their non-existent arms around the shoulders of the closest pair of children.

**__**

"You wish we'd leave you be

Instead you

Have to 

Get through

The years

With us

By your sides!"

The ghosts flew up and away from the students.

**__**

" 'Cause you're at Hogwarts!

Hogwarts ghosts-"

A handful of ghouls swept down and poked at random students and a couple teachers.

**__**

"We'll never set you free

We'll torture you eternally

Hogwarts!

Hogwarts ghosts- 

You scream 'just go away'

Instead you

Have to 

Get through!"

Peeves and the rest of the ghosts floated around over the audience, and Peeves quietly sang one line.

****

"Gonna fight tonight…"

The Bloody Baron, Slytherin's resident ghost, floated up to center stage. As the rest of Hogwarts' ghosts floated out over the crowd, the Baron recited a few lines in his deep, sinister voice.

"Darkness falls across the land

Your final hour may be at hand

And whosoever shall be found 

Will be attacked and taken down

Or if they wish to take a stance

May surely have a fighting chance

We ghouls shall hunt in search of you

Tonight will be the last for you"

The Baron glared at everyone that was not a Slytherin. The other ghosts were still hovering over the students and teachers. They now were each singing a quick like as they flew by.

**__**

"Gonna fight tonight"

"Hogwarts"

"Oooh"

"Hogwarts"

"Hogwarts ghosts"

"Hogwarts"

"Oh darlin' "

"Oh babe"

"Oh babe"

"Hogwarts"

"Hogwarts ghosts, babe"

"Hogwarts"

"Oh darlin' "

"Oh baby"

"Hogwarts ghosts"

"Hogwarts ghosts"

"Oooh!"

****

The Bloody Baron was still at center stage and recited a few more lines. As he spoke, ghosts began dispersing and disappearing.

"The foulest ghouls are in the air

The anger built over the years 

And irate ghosts from every room

Are closing in to seal your doom

And though you fight to stay alive, 

Your body starts to shiver

For no mere fleshie can resist

The tempting of Hogwarts ghosts"

The Baron finished his lines and a hauntingly nasty smile spread on his lips. He was the only ghost left visible in the room. Then all of a sudden, he threw back his head and laughed maniacally, long, loud, and low. As he laughed, a howl sounded off in the distance. He faded away and out of sight. Then footfalls were heard again going down the aisle and away from the stage. A creak of a door, and all the ghosts were gone.

It was a few minutes before anyone moved. At long last, Seamus stood slowly. He moved to take the stage, casting several wary looks over his shoulder. Once he was on the stage, he turned to face the group. "Well," he started.

Without warning, Peeves showed up sitting on Seamus' head. A few girls screamed in surprise.

The poltergeist grinned down at Seamus and then out at the people before him. "Sweet dreams," he said nastily. Then he bounced off Seamus' head and flew through the nearest wall and out of sight, cackling all the while.

Seamus, visibly shaken, looked after Peeves. Eventually, Seamus took a deep breath. He turned to face the audience once more, and said one simple sentence.

"Well. That was disturbing."

~*~TBC~*~


	16. Chapter 16: Picture Perfect

****

Chapter Sixteen

Picture Perfect

Harry couldn't help but be amused… Even if he was currently being smushed by a surprisingly heavy mass of Slytherin.

"Malfoy!" He poked at the unmoving ball of Draco currently residing in his lap. "Malf- Bugger that. Draco. _Draco_." He poked again at Draco, hard. "Draco, get _off_ my lap. I might've gotten used to you over the last week, but I will _not _let you sit in my lap. No matter _how _much that performance scared the wits out of you." Harry shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "I knew you Slytherins were bloody cowards… I just never knew how_ much_ of a coward you could be."

Draco uncurled just enough to glare up at Harry. "We are _not_ bloody cowards!" he cried indignantly. 

"Then would you kindly relieve my lap of the mass that is your pitiful little body?" Harry grinned down at the pale face in his lap. "You wouldn't want anyone else to see where you ended up after the ghosts' scare-fest, would you?"

Draco glared again and sat up slowly. After a moment, he moved off of the Gryffindor. He plopped himself back onto the cushions next to Harry. His arms were knotted together across his chest and an angry pout was put into place. "Better, Potter?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Yes, thank you, Malfoy."

"Potter, if you ever think about telling anyone-" started Draco.

"Yes, yes, I know. You'll hex me from here to Surrey and back," finished Harry. The smile morphed into a sly smirk.

"Oh. And Potter? One more thing." Draco turned to look Harry straight in the eye. 

Harry returned the dead glare with great precision. "Yes, Malfoy?"

Draco's eyes narrowed till they were nearly as thin as the hair of a hippogriff. "You _ever_ call me 'Draco' again without my permission, I _will_ kill you. Are we clear?"

Harry fought back the amused smirk, holding the Slytherin's stare. "Crystal."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry and Draco sat stock still, one trying to hide an amused grin, the other wearing an angry glare. Slowly the glare transformed into the standard smirk that always graced the pale skin. 

Harry found his lap full again an instant later. Draco had plopped his feet right back into Harry's lap. Harry let the amused grin break free and rested his arms on top of Draco's legs. 

Slowly, and quite stealthily, Harry inched his fingers to the hems of Draco's pants and drew them up just enough so that he could play with the leg hair by Draco's ankles. 

Draco noticed the action but chose to ignore it. Either that or he was enjoying it far too much to have Harry stop. He hid a smile as he looked to Seamus for the next introduction.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus reached behind him and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, ladies and gentlemen. That was, erm, _interesting._" Seamus rubbed the back of his neck again and then let his hand drop to his side. He shook off his uneasy feeling and brought his focus back to the task at hand. 

He smiled. "Next up is sure to be a lovely duet. Please welcome back to the stage Ginny Weasley, along with her handsome beau, Colin Creevey." Seamus grinned and stepped off the stage as Ginny and Colin moved to take their places. Seamus clapped a good luck pat on Colin's shoulder as he moved toward his seat.

Colin and Ginny stood side-by-side on the stage. They glanced quickly at each other and then they both snapped once.

At once, their robes were replaced with Muggle clothing. Colin was dressed in nice jeans and a pale yellow long-sleeved tee-shirt. Ginny was in tight, dark-blue bell-bottomed jeans and a white button-down shirt tailored to show off her girlish figure. Between the two fourth-years was a stool for each them to sit on. They took their places atop the stools and sat facing slightly away from each other. 

Colin waved his wand over his head and guitar music started playing quietly. The boy took a breath and went his cue came, he started singing.

****

"Living my life in a slow hell"

He put a hand over his chest, a forlorn look on his face.

****

"Feelin' heartache and pain nothing could quell"

He glanced over his shoulder at Ginny.

****

"Watching you fall harder every day

Was gettin' by on watching you watch him

For a long time I swore chances were slim

Lord, I wanted you to look at me that way" 

He sighed sadly, staring at his hands. 

****

"I took your picture those days

As I brushed tears away

I couldn't ask you out while they're saying you love him"

He glanced quickly over at where Harry was seated. Harry's eyes got a little wider than usual and his eyebrows shot toward his bangs. Meanwhile, Colin slipped off his stool, meandering away from Ginny. At the far edge of the stage, he turned and then pantomimed taking a snapshot of her.

****

"I took your picture those days"

He made like he was wiping his eyes.

****

"As I brushed tears away"

He shook he head sadly and turned away from her.

****

"I couldn't ask you out while they're saying you love him"

Colin hugged himself tightly, a sad look in his eyes. He stared at his shoes.

Ginny took a deep breath, trying not to let Colin's words affect her. She took a quick look at him.

****

__

"The moment I saw you I just fell"

She shook her head.

__

"My love I hid, I would not tell"

She rested her own hand over her heart.

__

"But I knew in my heart you and I would make it right"

She crossed her arms over her chest, a half-smile on her lips.

__

"I was waiting for you to ask me out

All I saw in your eyes was pure doubt"

She frowned a bit.

__

"I cried over you every night"

A knowing smile took the frown's place as she continued. She glanced at Colin again.

__

"You took my picture those days

I hoped you'd make a play"

She shook her head and looked over at her ex-crush, Harry.

__

"You wouldn't ask me out because they said I loved him" 

Ginny hopped off her stool and moved away to the other edge of the stage. She turned and looked at Colin's back. 

__

"You took my picture those days

I hoped you'd make a play"

She shrugged and turned slowly away.

__

"You wouldn't ask me out because they said I loved him" 

There was a little bit of an interlude. For a while the couple stood alone, hugging themselves and sending longing looks over their shoulders at each other, never at the same time. Finally, they turned back toward each other. They kept their eyes to the floor, but slowly advanced toward each other. When Ginny heard her cue, she glanced up. As she sang, Colin, too, raised his head to look at her. They kept moving toward each other.

__

"I saw you every day with all your friends"

They sent little waves at each other, but kept moving. They passed each other as though they were walking slowly through the hallways.

****

"It was the same ol' same 'how're you doin'?' "

__

They both looked over their shoulders at the other and sang together.

**__**

"Since I met you, my heart was saved for you"

Colin took a deep breath and acted as though he was steeling himself so he could do something drastic. He rushed to her side.

**__**

"I threw caution to the wind and I asked you"

Ginny grinned, an excited twinkle in her eyes.

__

"I realized you asked me to date you"

She nodded and then hurried to the side and made like she was writing a letter.

__

"I was off to write Mom!"

Colin grinned broadly and walked away from Ginny and also pretended to write a letter out.

****

"Daddy, I got great news today!"

They both turned toward each other and started moving together. This time they were staring straight in the other's eyes, and smiles lit both faces.

****

__

"I thought about you for a long time"

They met at center stage and slipped their arms around each other.

**__**

"Can't seem to get you off my mind

I can't stand when we go our separate ways"

Ginny stepped back and Colin leaned back, pretending again to take Ginny's picture. They sang the next lines together as Ginny posed and Colin kept up the photography pantomime.

**__**

"I took your picture today"

__

"You took my picture today"

****

"I know we'll be okay

We both know we're here together, here to stay"

They grinned at each other. 

****

"I took your picture today"

__

"You took my picture today"

They both stopped their actions and stepped together again. Ginny slid her arms around Colin's neck. Colin's arms snaked around Ginny's waist. They grinned broadly.

**__**

"I know we'll be okay

We both know we're here together, here to stay"

Ginny leaned in and put her head on Colin's chest, her face to the audience. Colin hugged her tightly.

**__**

"We both know we're here together, here to stay"

They both closed their eyes, enjoying being in each other's arms. After a second, the crowd broke out in cheers for them. After a sigh from each of them, Ginny pulled back and looked up at Colin. She smiled sweetly at him and stood on her tip-toes to set a kiss on his cheek. Then they turned and stepped off the stage and made their way back to their seats amid cheers and applause.

~*~TBC~*~


	17. Chapter 17: Accept the Love

****

Chapter Seventeen

Accept the Love

Harry grinned at Ginny as she and Colin were sitting down. He was still a bit surprised that he was partially the subject of the first few lines of their duet, but it was quite understandable. Harry shrugged and went back to his activity of playing with the little hairs at Draco's ankle. 

Harry had snuck a look at Draco while Colin and Ginny were singing. His eyes were closed in what looked like contentment, so Harry just kept on playing with Draco's legs. 

A small smile was resting comfortably on Harry's lips because he knew that at least for the moment, he could do something to make Draco Malfoy happy. And that, in itself, made Harry happy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco was, indeed, content. In fact, he had never been more relaxed than he was at that moment. Harry's fingers gentle caress was the most wonderful feeling in the world in Draco's mind. The corners of his mouth were making very serious threats to pull his lips into a smile, and of course Draco could not allow that to happen. He couldn't let on how truly contented he was. Not while Harry was touching him, anyway. 

Draco sat up a little and opened his eyes for a moment to take a look at Harry. He was grinning at those Gryffindors that had just sung about him a moment ago. A stab of jealousy ran through Draco as he saw how much Harry's smile lit his face. 

__

Why can't Harry look at me_ like that?_ Draco wondered. Then he realized that of _course_ Harry wouldn't smile at him like that. Because for the last four years, he made it his quest to make Harry's life as difficult as humanly possible. Draco wanted to kick himself for that now. _There's no way Harry would ever grin at me like that now. I've pissed him off far too much._

Draco noticed that Harry's fingers had stopped their ministrations to his ankle then. Draco sat back again, the hint of a sorrowful frown tainting his face now. He closed his eyes again, wishing Harry would start up the stroking again. Almost instantly, Draco felt Harry's fingers start moving again, and Draco gave a silent sigh of joy. He was sure that today would be something he would remember for a very long time, even after he left Hogwarts. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus climbed up the stairs to the stage again. He grinned out at his captive audience, who had finally settled down after Ginny and Colin's performance. Now everyone was waiting to find out who was going to sing next. 

"That was great, Ginny, Colin," said Seamus, looking to each Gryffindor as he mentioned them. The couple smiled back at him as the audience clapped again politely. "Alright," continued Seamus. "Our next act is another performance from Slytherin House. Please put your hands together for Blaise Zabini!"

The black-haired boy stood from his seat on the other side of Vin and Greg. Blaise started to the stage amid more polite applause.

Draco opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. _Why didn't he tell me he was singing?_ thought Draco. He shrugged and his eyes followed his best friend to the stage.

Blaise stood at center stage, and snapped once. His school robes were replaced with carpenter jeans, a Slytherin-green button-down shirt with the top few buttons opened, and a black tee shirt peaking out of the opening of the button-down. He pulled his wand out of a long, skinny pocket along his right thigh. He waved it above his head and his accompanying music started.

Blaise took a deep breath, and when his cue came, a strong tenor voice escaped his throat. He hazarded a quick glance at Draco as he sang.

****

"You know you're seeking

Love, and I wish you'd find it."

Blaise tapped his temple softly.

****

"Oh, but it's hiding in the back of your mind."

He shook his head and shrugged.

****

"You never did get it.

You were never given it."

The Slytherin put a hand to his chest and shook his head again.

****

"Now you feel, and you don't get why.

But inside you need to look, deep down,

Past the hatred that you used to learn"

Blaise looked at Draco again and saw his best friend was looking back in bewilderment. Blaise nodded just enough for Draco to see, just enough for Draco to understand this song was to him, and then he looked away. He didn't want the whole world to know who he was really singing to.

****

"Now you've got to listen,

Listen and wait for the 

Songs of the love that inside you burns."

Blaise took a deep breath and started the chorus of the song.

****

"He's everything you want

He's everything you need

He's everything inside of you that you wish you could be"

A smile that looked almost like a longing one was set on Blaise's lips, and he looked directly at the object of Draco's affections. Blaise and Harry made eye contact for a second, then Blaise's eyes slipped closed.

****

"He does all the right things 

At exactly the right time.

But there's nothing between you and I don't get why."

Blaise shook his head yet again, opening his eyes.

****

"You're waiting for something"

He held his hands out and brought them together like he was pressing something together between them.

****

"To push you together.

You're waiting for something to make him stay"

Blaise covered his chest, right where his heart was.

****

"There's always another

Wound to discover

There's always something more you wish he'd say."

Blaise glanced over to Draco again as he sang the chorus again.

****

"He's everything you want

He's everything you need

He's everything inside of you that you wish you could be"

He nodded and closed his eyes, the sad smile resting on his lips.

****

"He does all the right things 

At exactly the right time.

But there's nothing between you and I don't get why."

Blaise once again shook his head and opened his eyes.

****

"But you'll just sit tight"

He swept his hand, palm up, in front of him like he was reaching out to someone walking past him.

****

"And watch love go by."

He closed his fingers into a fist and pulled in back to his body.

****

"He's everything you're waiting for."

Another sad shake of Blaise's head came.

****

"You'll never be fine

Just biding your time

'Cause with him you'll be so much more."

He sighed.

****

"Out of the shadows,

And into the sunlight,"

As though it was planned, a streak from the setting sun outside lit Blaise's face. He threw back his head, eyes closed, and revelled in the receeding sunshine.

****

"Heal the pain that comes from what you learned.

You never noticed

But you've always shied away

From songs of the love that inside you yearns"

Blaise wanted to look back at Draco, but he knew if he kept that up, then the whole school would know he was singing to Draco. And that was not something he wanted the world to know. He made himself look at several different girls as he sang the chorus again.

****

"He's everything you want

He's everything you need

He's everything inside of you that you wish you could be"

Another sad smile painted Blaise's lips as he looked at the audience.

****

"He does all the right things 

At exactly the right time.

But there's nothing between you and I don't get why."

Blaise pointed to himself now. His face was the portrait of sadness along with the hint of jealousy.

****

"I'm not anything you want.

I'm not anything you need

There's not anything inside of me that you wish you could be.

I don't do the right things

Never at just the right time

And there's friendship between us and I don't get why."

Blaise shook his head again, sadness, jealousy and confusion twisting his features. He repeated himself softly.

****

"I don't get why.

Why?

Why?

I don't know."

Blaise lowered his head, a look akin to defeat on his face. The music died away a minute later. The crowd broke into applause, and quiet "aww"s could be heard here and there, as well as whispers of "I wonder who he was singing to." Blaise moved to his seat, content in knowing that he sang well, and that he had not given away who the subject of his song was.

As Blaise was settling back into his armchair, two boys sat together, yet alone. And they wondered why the Slytherin had glanced directly at them.

~*~TBC~*~


	18. Chapter 18: Twinly Fun

****

Chapter Eighteen

Twinly Fun

Draco stared at Blaise for a long moment after the ebony-haired teen was seated. _Blaise knows._ Draco's thoughts were reeling around that one frightening notion. _Blaise knows._ Draco had never told a single soul who he really had a crush on. He let Pansy drape herself all over him, and he couldn't help but admit that girls fawning over him constantly was a great ego booster. 

Draco had known for a while that he was only interested in one person. But because of who he'd developed feelings for, Draco never shared the secret with anyone. Not even his best friend, Blaise. Somehow, though, Blaise had figured it out. _Damn. Blaise is a lot smarter than I thought._ Draco had seen the nonchalant glance at Harry while Blaise was singing the chorus of his song. Which meant that Blaise knew for a fact _exactly_ how Draco felt about Harry Potter. An involuntary shudder ran through Draco as it dawned on him how much blackmail Blaise had on him.

Draco glanced over at Blaise once more as another thought flitted through his mind. _I have to talk to Blaise alone when this whole thing is over… He _can't_ tell…_

After Blaise's song, not even Harry's fingers trailing over his ankles could get Draco to be relaxed like he was. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry was confused. _Why did Blaise look at me like that?_ wondered Harry. _Does he know something about me I don't?_ He glanced past Draco toward where Blaise Zabini was seated. He was avoiding looking in Harry's direction, so Harry couldn't even try to figure out what that look was all about. 

Harry shrugged and settled back into his half of the olive loveseat. His fingers were still tracing little patterns over Draco's ankles, but Draco didn't seem to be enjoying it as much as he had before. Harry frowned slightly. Being able to touch Draco, even just his ankles, was soothing to Harry. _But if Draco doesn't want me to do it anymore, that's a bit selfish of me…_ Harry frowned againand stopped his pattern-making. But after a second, Draco's feet wiggled a little. 

Harry looked up at Draco, and Draco smirked back. 

After that, Harry didn't stop anymore. And the curiosity over Blaise's look at him left his mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus took the stage again, grinning broadly. "Nice job, Zabini! I hope whoever you were singing to figures out who she really loves and all that." 

Blaise and Draco breathed soft sighs of relief that it was not obvious who Blaise was singing to. 

Seamus beamed out at the audience again. "And now I would like to present two more of my marvelous housemates. This pair has been, is, and always be infamous here at Hogwarts. I don't think anyone will ever trust a sweet coming from either of them ever again, though! May I present Fred and George Weasley, Kings of Mischief!"

The Great Hall exploded with cheers for the seventh years as they took the stage. The jokesters grinned their identical grins and took the stage happily. They each shook Seamus' hand cheerfully and bowed him off the stage.

Fred and George grinned cheeky grins at the audience. They positioned themselves very carefully at the edge of the stage. Many of the students in the audience noticed Mrs. Weasley gasp worriedly. Mr. Weasley was visibly restraining the woman, keeping her from running up to the stage and telling the twins off for being so close to the edge of the stage. Then Fred snapped and George clapped simultaneously. 

At Fred's snap, they were changed into pajamas, covered in ducks. Fred's jammies were pale blue with pink ducks, and Georges were pink with blue. On identical sets of feet, duck-shaped fuzzy slippers appeared to match the ducks on the opposite boy's pajamas. Their carrot-colored heads of hair had been separated into two short pigtails each, sticking straight up. And in each teen's right hand was a stuffed duck, matching the ducks on his feet, and his twin's jammies. A great roar of laughter spread through the Hall at the sight of the two seventeen-year-old boys dressed like twelve-year-old girls going to a sleep-over. 

At the same time as the pajamas had shown up on the twins' backs, a great bed had appeared on the stage behind them, due to George's confident clap. It was a huge four poster, just like what each and every student slept on every night, except twice as big. The bedding was white patterned with pink and blue ducks that matched George and Fred's pajamas. There was a mountain of pillows at the head of the bed, some pink, some blue, and some white. 

The twins grinned at each other, and at their mother. Then they split and walked to the side of the bed. As soon as they had climbed up onto the seemingly _very_ cushy bed, the boys glanced at each other. A slight nod, and then George waved his wand over his head to start the music.

As the bubbly music started, the boys flopped onto their stomachs and kicked their feet up. They put the ducks down between their arms, and then each rested his chin on his upturned palms. They bobbed their heads from side to side along with the music, waiting for their cue.

Fred sat up and made like he was writing out a letter. While his brother sang, George just laid on his stomach, playing with his stuffed duck.

****

"We write home, almost every night

Our mum writes back, 'when you gonna make your life right?' "

An exasperated sigh was heard coming from their mother's direction. Fred winked at her and continued, shaking his head.

****

"Oh Mummy dear, we're not the Ministry types, 

And Twins, they wanna have fun."

George sat up quickly, grabbed a pillow, whapped Fred in the back of the head, and joined in.

**__**

"Oh, Twins just wanna have fun"

Fred glared at George, but sat back so George could sing his part. Fred grabbed his own duck and hugged it tight, pouting.

__

"Errol comes in the middle of the night

Our father writes 'Whatcha gonna do with your life?' "

Arthur had looked quite amused when Molly Weasley had gotten all flustered, but when he was mentioned by his sons, his face went all pink and he sunk himself down in the seat. Molly looked down at him, amused. Her face clearly said, "Laugh at me, hmm? See how you like it!" George just smiled and continued.

__

"Oh Daddy dear, you know we're all about stunts,

'Cause twins, they wanna have fun"

Fred had grabbed another pillow and whapped George as he joined in. 

__

****

"Oh, twins just wanna have fun"

George glared back at Fred, who sent him a cheeky grin. George sighed and they started bouncing around on the bed while they sang.

****

__

"That's all we want!

Some fun!"

The twins grinned at their headmaster for a moment.

**__**

"When our Hogwarts days are done, yeah

Us twins we wanna have fun"

Then they turned to face each other, a pillow in each hand.

**__**

"Oh twins just wanna have fun"

They started a crazy pillow fight with each other and feathers started spraying all over the place.

****

__

"Twins, they wanna-

Wanna have fun

Twins

Wanna have-"

A music break started in the song. George and Fred each grabbed a sack from their hiding spot under the pillows. They bounced off the bed and stood on either side of the stage. The boys reached into the sacks and started pelting the audience with sweets. Upon closer inspection, it seemed the twins were tossing out Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes into the crowd. Each one had an advertisement on it, telling the holder that they should talk to either Fred or George about getting more sweets if they were satisfied with the results from these. The audience, save Molly Weasley, who was starting to turn a bit purple, was whooping with cheers and laughter. 

George and Fred eventually ran out of Wheezes, but they had planned for that. They started throwing pillows out into the crowd, creating mass hysteria… And a giant, nearly school-wide, pillow fight. Once they had tossed out all but two pillows, they bounded up onto the bed again. And they were just in time for their cue. As the boys started singing again, the pillow fights died down so everyone could see the rest of the performance.

****

Fred pointed toward his father.

****

"Some guys work for the ministry,"

George nodded and then swept out a hand slowly, staring off into the distance.

__

"Some guys fly off, they wanna follow their dreams"

They turned back to back, their heads facing the audience.

**__**

"We wanna be the ones to play in the sun"

They started jumping up and down on the bed, seemingly having the time of their lives.

****

__

"Oh twins they wanna have fun

Oh twins they wanna have-

That's all they really want…

Is some fun"

They grinned over at Dumbledore again.

**__**

"When the Hogwarts days are done

Oh us, we wanna have fun"

They threw an arm around each other and grinned out at their schoolmates.

**__**

"Oh twins they wanna have fun"

They bounced a bit more on the bed as they sang the ending bit. They each picked up their ducks and started dancing around on the bed with them.

**__**

"Twins, they wanna 

They wanna have fun

They wanna have-

They just wanna, they just wanna

They just wanna, they just wanna

Twins just wanna have fun"

They bounced themselves off the bed and danced out into the crowd, carrying their pillows with them. They started the massive pillow fight again. Everyone, at the twins' encouragement, started singing along. Fred and George brought a few people up on the stage with them, mostly twins, including Parvati and Padma Patil, among others. Everyone was singing the same thing over and over. 

**__**

"They just wanna, they just wanna

They just wanna, they just wanna

Twins, twins just wanna have fun"

Finally, the music faded out, and the crowd broke out into thunderous applause for the twins. George and Fred each gave a Patil twin a squeeze, much to the girls' delights. Then they ushered everyone off the stage. A quick bow, and the Weasley twins left the stage. 

They were still proudly wearing their ducky jammies and slippers and carrying their stuffed ducks.

~*~TBC~*~


	19. Chapter 19: From Slytherin, With Thanks

****

Chapter Nineteen

From Slytherin, With Thanks

While the Weasley twins were now sitting calmly back in their seats, all hell had broken loose throughout the rest of the Hall. People were being pelted repeatedly by the pillows Fred and George had tossed out to them. And here and there, unsuspecting students started bursting into feathers. After a quick molting, each feather-ridden student was restored to their normal, featherless state, but yellow, blue, green, and red feathers started adding themselves to the white feathers that were emanating from inside the exploding pillows, creating a great colorful mess throughout the hall.

Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape were staring daggers at the twins, but most everyone else were enjoying the chaos immensely. Most of the teachers were trying to get their students to calm down so the contest could continue. It was getting to be a bit later than they really wanted to have their students up and about, and the teachers just wanted to get the contest over with. 

Albus Dumbledore just relaxed back in his Lay-Z-Boy and watched the insanity from the comfort of his recliner. And if anyone looked close enough, they would see the normal twinkle in the headmaster's eye had intensified significantly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

WHAP!

A pillow smacked Harry upside the head and knocked his glasses askew. When he turned his face to look at the offending whapper, he saw nothing but pink, pattered with blue ducks. 

"Rrmph? Hnph murph famph pipho?" said Harry through his mouthful of cotton. He extended a hand behind him to Ron, who had a pink pillow resting on his lap. Ron, being very fluent in Harry's-face-in-a-pillow-ese, plopped the pillow in his best friend's hand. 

If a pillow was not currently covering the Gryffindor's face, a devilish smirk would have been seen. But too bad for Draco…

Flump. WHAP!

Harry pulled back quickly from the pillow being shoved in his face, setting Draco off-balance and nearly crashing straight into Harry's lap. Then Harry bombarded Draco with a vengeance. 

Draco didn't know, but Harry and Ron were very big fans of Pillow Wars. They had been since they were first years. So Draco never had a chance of beating Harry. After only five minutes, not only was Draco's usually gelled, slick hair looking a lot like Harry's mess of a mane, his robed were twisted, and feathers were stuck all over his clothes and in his hair. 

Harry sat back, satisfied. His hair was in its normal state of organized disarray, and his robes were on perfectly straight. His glasses, somehow, had even been placed back on his face the right way. 

Draco ran his fingers through his hair quickly to remove the feathers, and marveled at the complete lack of dishevelment of his pillow fight partner. He frowned grumpily, giving in. He flopped back in the seat, facing the stage once again, his hands resting on the pillow laying in his lap. 

A hand reached up to try again fix his hair, but not really doing all that good a job of it. Draco sighed, more grumpiness pervading the space around him. He ran his fingers through his un-slicked hair one more time, trying to get it to at least look presentable.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry was trying desperately not to stare at his enemy-turned-obsession. With Draco's hair all mussed like it was, it looked as though Draco had just rolled out of bed, or been wrapped in an impressively intense snogging session. And what drove Harry craziest was the idea that _he_ was the one that made Draco look so delicious.

__

Oh Great Merlin's beard. He looks amazing_. I just had to muss his hair like that, didn't I?_ Harry sighed contentedly and fought to keep his eyes off the delectable Slytherin sitting beside him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus, pillow in tow, fought his way through his schoolmates and to the stage. Finally, he stood at centerstage for a few moments, delighting in the sight of the pure bedlam that was taking place in the Hall. _Leave it to Fred and George to wreak this much havoc,_ Seamus thought approvingly with a massive grin lighting his features, and mirth dancing in his eyes. 

He turned to face the giant bed that was still sitting onstage behind him. He clapped once to get rid of it. Then he turned back to watch the pandemonium still occurring with the Weasley twins' pillows. A cheery smile lit his face again.

Once he was bored by the pillow fights and explosions of feathers coming from those who had eaten a Canary Cream, Seamus cleared his throat loudly. That got no response, so he yelled. 

"Ladies and gentlemen? Can- Hello? Can I have your attention please?" 

Still no effect. Seamus shrugged and put down the pillow at his feet. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly.

Instantly, everyone in the Great Hall froze on the spot and looked up at the stage. 

Everyone but Hermione, that is. 

Not wanting to end without getting the upper hand, she whapped Ron in the head one more time before sitting down and crossing her legs primly. When Ron had recovered enough to glare menacingly at her, she was already staring at Seamus, the picture of innocence, except for the teeniest hint of a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth.

Seamus grinned at Hermione. "Nice shot, 'Mione," he said with a wink, receiving a blush of thanks from the girl. "Now that I have everyone's attention, it's time to get on with the contest. We're almost finished, folks, so let's get settled again, please?"

There was a dull roar as everyone shuffled back to their seats and got comfortable again. Once the buzzing of voices had stopped again, Seamus grinned again. "Well, our next performer is another fifth year from Slytherin. Everyone, please welcome Draco Malfoy to the stage."

Many of the girls started squealing in excitement. The entirety of Slytherin House started stomping their feet and whooping cheerfully as the still-slightly-scruffy Slytherin rose from his seat and squared his shoulders. He sent a quick death glare at Harry for messing up his hair right before he was to take the stage. Then he sauntered up to the stage proudly. He took his time in getting there, drinking in every second of attention. 

Once on the stage, he looked down at his robes. With a snap, they disappeared, and were replaced by a forget-me-not blue button-down shirt and a pair of light blue jeans, both of which accented all the right things. On his feet were normal, Muggle running sneakers. His hair was un-gelled and loose. It hung in his eyes a bit, making him have to push it out of his eyes every couple seconds. 

Draco looked out at the audience and felt his knees get a bit weak for a moment. He had not been the center of this much attention in his entire life. Not even in second year during the one and only meeting of Lockhart's dueling club. Not quite everyone had turned out for that meeting… And Draco had never sung in front of his father before either, which is probably the second most nerve-wracking experience.

And it was second only to singing in front of his long-time crush. Harry Potter.

Finally, Draco took a deep breath. He clapped his hands three times, and the audience gasped in astonishment at what appeared on the stage behind Draco.

It was a grand piano, the exact color of Draco's shirt. The piano took up just about as much space on the stage as Fred and George's gigantic bed had. 

Draco took another steadying breath and walked to the piano. He had been learning how to play in secret, knowing that his father would not quite approve of such a Muggle-like activity as learning to play the piano. He had secretly enlisted the help of one of the Ravenclaws in his Herbology class, a Muggle-born girl named Laura Something-or-Other. With Laura's help, he had gotten good enough on the piano that he felt comfortable enough to play in front of people. 

Now, he sat at the piano and ran his fingers over the pure white keys. He was getting extremely nervous, but his pride was slowly but surely taking over. He closed his eyes, and set his fingers in place at the opening chord. 

As Draco began to play, the gasps and whispers of surprise were instantly quieted and everyone listened to the sweet melodies rolling out from under the open lid of the piano. A moment later, the Hall was filled with the sound of Draco's voice.

He was timid at first, his courage not quite harnessed as well as it could be.

****

"It's hard for me to say to you

The things I want to say."

Draco lifted his eyes from the keyboard and looked skyward.

****

"I look above, to all the gods,

Get on my knees and pray."

His eyes slipped closed, all his focus on the keys under his fingers.

****

" 'Help me now, please give me the guts,

Help me out, give me the power

To say the things I must.' "

He took a breath and started in on the chorus of his song.

****

"Thank you for saving me

For being my strength when I was too weak

For giving me words when I couldn't speak"

Draco shook his head slightly, tiny wisps white-blonde hair falling softly into his eyes.

****

"Thank you for saving me

Thank you for saving me."

Draco opened his eyes slowly, his fingers dancing over the keys. Out of nowhere, a soft drumbeat started under his piano's melody line. Draco took a breath and started again.

****

"I never learned of happiness

Until I saw your face"

A quick glance at Harry gave him an extra rush of un-Slytherin-like courage. 

****

"That day I knew that my whole world

Would be a different place 

You brought me life when I had none to spare"

Draco shook his head again, and grimaced slightly.

****

"And even though you hate my kind,

It seems that you might care."

A small, hopeful smile flitted over Draco's lips for a second as his eyes slipped closed again. 

****

"Thank you for saving me

For being my strength when I was too weak

For giving me words when I couldn't speak

Thank you for saving me"

The music started getting stronger, and Draco really started getting into it. His eyes were now opened, and something halfway between a smirk and an out-and-out grin was gracing his lips now.

****

"When I feel down, you lift me up

You give me hope and then I can't give up

If I were lost, you would come find me 

You'd risk yourself to rescue me

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah"

Now his lips were definitely spread into an uncharacteristic grin. Draco was imagining himself and Harry happily spending time together, which made the grin spread over his whole face, even lighting his eyes. He was now playing out what would have been a guitar solo in the original Muggle song, his fingers danced over the keys skillfully, making it seem that he had been playing for years. His eyes were trained on the keys under his fingers and nothing else. He knew if he looked elsewhere, even just at Harry, then he would falter and the performance would be ruined. The end of the solo was at hand, much softer and calmer than before. His voice floated from him in a near-whisper.

****

"All I know is I can't say good-bye"

Draco shook his head, and he and the music got stronger.

****

"Because I think that if I do, 

A part of me will die" 

Draco chanced another look at Harry. Their eyes locked for a second before Draco looked away again. Harry looked utterly stunned. Draco just went on with the chorus.

****

"Thank you for saving me

For being my strength, oh, when I was too weak

For giving me words when I couldn't speak"

Draco's eyes closed once more, and they stayed that way for the rest of the song.

****

"Thank you for saving me

For sending me hope, oh, when all looked so bleak

For giving me words when I couldn't speak

Thank you for saving me

Thank you for saving me

Thank you for saving me"

The third time he said the line, his voice got soft and trailed away. He sang one last line.

****

"Oh for saving me"

He played the soft ending to the song, and a tear was trailing down his cheek. He had truly felt every word of the song, knowing that Harry was the only reason that he was making it through school and life right now. Draco's fingers danced over the keys as he played softly. When his fingers landed on the last chord, he let his chin drop to his chest. He felt more tears coming, and there was nothing he could do about it. He let go of the chord, and all was silenced. 

There was no sound from the crowd for a moment as Draco stood and wiped away the stray tears. Then, as Draco was walking slowly back to his seat next to Harry, the entire Hall broke out in applause that many thought would bring the roof down on them. The girls were half-crying, half-cheering. The boys were all quite surprised, but very impressed. 

There was only two people not applauding the Slytherin. One was sneering and would not do anything but glare a spot on the farthest wall. The other just gaped as his seatmate collapsed next to him.

~*~TBC~*~


	20. Chapter 20: I'm Here

****

Chapter Twenty

I'm Here

Draco didn't have to look at his father to see the reaction on the older Malfoy's face. Draco could care less what his father thought, though. He had done a beautiful job, and he'd made half the girls in the school cry, because he was so damn good. He smiled back at several of his classmates that were grinning like hyenas. 

Draco knew, though, that after the contest was finished, he was going to get a very good talking-to from Lucius Malfoy. And he was dreading that conversation.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, making sure they were not paying attention to him. They weren't. What were they doing? Well, they were a bit caught up in each other, so to speak.

Harry turned to Draco, who was grinning proudly at his effect on the crowd of his peers. Harry poked Draco's arm lightly. Draco turned to Harry, a smile still lingering on his lips. Then the smile faded slowly at the sight of Harry's face. 

"Yeah, Potter?" said Draco, raising an eyebrow.

Harry took a deep breath. "That was really great, Malfoy," murmured Harry.

Draco's eyebrows ran for cover under the still-loose fringe of his hair. "What was did you say?" 

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat brought on by Draco's song and cleared his throat. "I said you did great. The song was beautiful."

Draco managed to reduce his blindingly huge smile to a normal-ish sized one, and said, "Th-thank you."

Harry smiled back at the blonde. "You're welcome. You deserve to win. You looked like you really meant all of that."

"Oh, I did," said Draco softly, suddenly feeling extremely shy. "I meant every word."

Harry nodded silently. He searched Draco's eyes to see if it was really him that Draco had sung to, but the Slytherin had always been good at shuttering his emotions from the world, especially Harry. But Harry thought he saw the hint of something in Draco's eyes. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew it was good. And Harry smiled again. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus moved toward the stage again and clapped away the grand piano still sitting at centerstage as he reached the stairs. As he faced the crowd, he was trying not to look utterly flabbergasted at the talent oozing from the blonde Slytherin that had settled himself back next to Harry. He cleared his throat loudly, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Well, thank you, Malfoy." He tried to hide the surprise at the very honest and open display of emotion from the usually steely Slytherin. He shook off the surprise, knowing he needed to move on to the next introduction.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you a young man that truly needs _no_ introduction. The one. The only. Mister Harry Potter of Gryffindor House!" Seamus threw a hand out, palm up, and gestured to where Harry was sitting. 

Harry smiled nervously at Seamus' introduction, or lack thereof, and he stood. 

__

Well, he thought. _Here we go…_

He took a deep, would-be-calming breath and made his way to the stage, and stood at centerstage until Seamus was seated once again. The audience was clapping their hands, stomping their feet, whistling and cat-calling. It was quite obvious how popular Harry actually was.

But Harry didn't hear any of the noise. As soon as he had started for the stage, everything had gone quiet in his head. He had to concentrate on what he was about to sing, and Harry had learned long ago that the best way for him to gain some semblence of peace was to shut the world out. 

Harry stood before the thundering masses and raised his hands. A clap later, and not only did his clothing change, but the entire crowd had gone silent. But he didn't notice. He was too busy concentrating on one thing, and one thing only. 

Draco.

His school robes had been replaced with carpenter-style jeans and a shirt that was uncannily similar to the blonde Slytherin's. The shirt was a brilliant emerald green button-down that matched his eyes exactly. The top three buttons were left undone, showing the collar and top bit of the black tee shirt he'd worn for the Gryffindor boys' performance earlier. He had nice brown leather Doc Marten-like shoes on his feet. 

Harry clapped again, and a stool appeared behind him and an accoustic guitar was leaning against the front leg of the stool. On the lower right corner of the guitar was a small etching of the Gryffindor lion. The strap had things embroidered along it, but no one could see what they were, except for Harry. And Harry didn't pay much attention. He'd seen the guitar so much lately, that he barely noticed its decorations anymore.

He stepped up to the stool. Putting the strap around his neck, he slipped an arm through and settled the guitar comfortably in front of him. Then he sat down on the stool, one foot on a high rung set between two of the stool's legs, and the other on the middle rung set on a different side of the stool. He took the little black plastic pick between two fingers. With one final settling breath, he set his fingers on the opening chord. There was no real introduction, so as he strummed the first chord, he began to sing. It was a clear, but soft tenor.

****

"You're not happy with the Dark Lord's side."

Harry shrugged and shook his head sadly.

****

"You wish you were but your emotions hide

You want to be here and fight right by our sides"

A sad smile set itself on Harry's lips.

****

"And I-"

Harry took breath and looked right into Draco's eyes. The Slytherin stared back, mouth agape.

****

"I'd like to help you, if you'd just ask me.

I'm always here but that you never see."

Harry frowned and dropped his gaze to the strings of his guitar. He strummed one chord and held out his hand for a second.

****

"If you just take my hand, then I can set you free."

He pulled back his hand and went back to playing.

****

"And I-"

He took another breath and started in on the chorus. His voice, still breathy, took on a stronger force behind it.

****

"I wish I could slay the Dark Lord, but he's still holding fast

Wish I could lay my life down and put this in the past

Wish I could say that it's all done at last"

Harry frowned and shook his head in defeat.

****

"I've never saved the day."

Harry looked up at Draco again for a moment.

****

"I know that your heart's in the right place"

Harry dropped his eyes again. 

****

"Others may thing you're trying to save face

But I know better, that this is not the case."

He smiled sadly again.

****

"And I-"

He started the chorus of the song again.

****

"I wish I could lay my wand down and stop this stupid war

Wish I could stay and help you, 'cause to me you mean more."

Harry looked up at Draco again, and their gazes locked.

****

"Wish I could say that it's you that I adore."

He knew that this song was setting him up for possible ridicule from a lot of people, but he didn't care anymore.

****

"But I've never saved the day

I've just never saved the day."

Harry played the final chord as he said the last word of his lyrics, and he let the sound die off on its own. He dropped his eyes from Draco's, and let his head fall slowly to his chest. His eyes closed, waiting for the jeering and derision from his schoolmates, but it never came. 

A silence had fallen over the crowd from the moment that Harry's mouth had opened. Now the entire school sat stunned by the vulnerable boy that was sitting on the stage. This was Harry Potter, their Boy-Who-Lived, their hero, and here he was saying he'd never saved the day, when each one of them could think of at least a dozen things he'd done to help them. 

He slid, a little shakily, off the stool and snapped it into nonexistance. He slipped the guitar off and he held it by the neck and carried it to his seat. 

He set the guitar on the ground in front of his seat and curled his knees up to his chin. Wrapping his arms around his legs, he buried his face and tried to recover his cool a bit. 

As his backside hit the cushion of the loveseat he'd shared with Draco the whole evening, the audience came back to life. They all applauded through their tears drawn by the dispair shown by the teen that had been on the stage. The roar of appreciation of Harry Potter overpowered any other performer's reception. 

The only thing Harry heard, though, was one voice.

"It was beautiful, Potter," murmured Draco softly.

~*~TBC~*~


	21. Chapter 21: The Contest Ends

****

Chapter Twenty-One

The Contest Ends

Harry lifted his head. He sighed, and looked at his seatmate. "What?"

"It was beautiful," said Draco again, just as softly as before.

Harry narrowed his eyes, trying to find some hint in the contours of Draco's face that might tell him that the Slytherin is lying. 

Nothing.

"Thank you," replied Harry in the same tone as Draco. 

"You're welcome."

Harry watched Draco another minute, just to make sure there was no hidden mockery in the simple statement. Then he turned away to watch his roommate take the stage once again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Before Seamus had reached the steps of the stage, there was a disturbance at the entrance to the Hall. 

BANG!

The doors of the Great Hall banged open. A battered and bruised-looking Neville Longbottom stumbled into the Hall, surprising everyone.

The entire crowd had all but forgotten about Neville. Everyone, as one, mentally relived the scene after Neville sang. The audience then joined in remembering that after his performance, Neville had been chased out by his handbag-wielding grandmother. Upon his return, however, the mass of people started whispering back and forth to each other. Most were wondering if Mrs. Longbottom had been whacking Neville over the head with her bag this whole time. Many giggled and pointed at the poor Gryffindor's scruffy appearance. Few actually felt bad for the boy. Only one girl even worried, and only because Hermione couldn't help herself.

Neville stumbled to his seat, on the sofa next to Hermione and Ron. He turned, grimacing obviously, and forced a small smile.

"So. What did I miss?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seamus finally took the stage once more. He smirked at Neville, but said nothing to him or about his lengthy absense. He turned and smiled softly in Harry's direction. "Great job, mate," he said. "You even got me crying, Harry!" Seamus winked.

Harry sent a wavering smile at Seamus.

Seamus turned back to the rest of the audience before him. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce that this concludes the show for this evening. Now I must introduce to you our headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, for a few quick words regarding the judging of tonight's contest."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  


"Thank you, thank you," said Dumbledore once the applause had died away. "I must first thank you all for being such a splendid audience. I know how difficult it is to stand before such a crowd and sing, mostly because I did it myself. I also know how excruciating it can sometimes be to sit by and listen to people sing for an entire evening," the crowd rippled with soft laughter. "It is not an easy thing to do. So I believe you should all give yourselves a hand for being such a wonderful and captive audience, and give your fellow students another round of applause for their great courage and talent." The crowd broke out in clapping again. 

"Now, I must announce that things will be slightly different than one might have thought originally when I announced the judges for this contest."

Whispers of confusion erupted all through out the mass of students and teachers. "Yes, yes. Things are always prone to change here at Hogwarts, as you should all know by now. Therefore, I shall explain. We, the judges, are asking that you all cast a vote to help us decide who gets the honors of winning tonight's contest." Cheers broke out as everyone realized that they would be instrumental in choosing the winners of the contest. Dumbledore held up his hands to quiet the crowd.

"Yes, yes, very exciting, I know. Now, as it has been a long and eventful evening, I would like to take the time and remind you of all the talent you've enjoyed this evening."

Dumbledore proceeded to rattle off the name of each performer, what song they each performed, and the song they adapted. Once he was done, he said, "Now that you've been reminded of the great talent that pervades your school, I ask that you please think on this intently. Tomorrow morning, there will be a ballot collecting device of sorts for you all to place your votes in. I ask that you ponder your top three choices and place them, in order, on a piece of parchment and then put the parchment into the collecting device. And trust me, there will not be any double-voting, either."

Dumbledore looked directly at the Weasley twins' guilty faces. He smiled at them and continued. "Now, I ask that you do not consider anyone that is not a current student here, due to the fact that we would not be able to award house points. Therefore, my performance and the ghosts' performance are not to be considered for prizes. Other than that, you should be all set to retire for the evening and cast your votes in the morning."

As the headmaster was about to dismiss his students, there was the sound of a very loud raspberry from somewhere behind Dumbledore. Peeves appeared behind and to the left of the headmaster. The poltergeist was obviously angry about being taken out of consideration for contest winner. A water balloon went whizzing toward the back of Dumbledore's head.

With the wave of an ancient hand, the balloon was diverted from its course and flew in another direction.

Unfortunately for Severus Snape, that direction was his. To make things worse, Snape had fallen asleep at some point during the contest and had no idea what was about to occur.

SPLASH!

Not even Albus Dumbledore could resist at least a chuckle. Snape's fellow professors all hid their grins behind their hands and sniggered quietly. Many of the Gryffindors cackled openly as Severus Snape woke up, sputtering and cursing violently. He scrambled out of his chair and stood, holding his arms out to the sides and flapping them a bit to throw off some of the water. The potions master was drenched from head to toe, as the water balloon had been expertly filled to capacity. Snape glared around the room at all the partially-hidden but still-smiling faces. With an extra-vile sneer that rivaled even the nastiest Trademark Malfoy Sneer and a few more choice swear-words, Severus Snape stormed out of the room.

As the laughter was quieting over most of the room several minutes later, a single voice was heard shouting over the rest.

  
"Thank the gods I didn't miss that," cried Neville mirthfully.

~*~TBC~*~  



	22. Chapter 22: After the Contest

****

Chapter Twenty-Two

After the Contest…

The audience quieted itself to a dull giggling as the headmaster cleared his throat again. 

"Ladies and gentlemen? May I have your attention again, please?" Dumbledore instantly had everyone's attention again and the giggles stopped immediately. "Thank you. I just have three final words to end the evening." He smiled at his students. Then he said, "Sweet dreams, everyone!"

At his words, the Great Hall erupted with a great flurry of motion and commotion. The performers were each getting swarmed around, people hugging them, telling them how much their performances were enjoyed, or promising their votes in the final tally. 

Harry, as always, was the most accosted of the performers, his celebrity status sky-rocketing after that evening. He somehow managed to pick up his guitar as he felt himself being shunted off toward the great wooden doors of the Great Hall. He was pulled away from Ron and Hermione, and Draco, the person with whom he most wanted to speak. He needed to figure out what exactly was happening between himself and Draco Malfoy.

Harry nodded graciously, thanking everyone for their kind compliments on his singing and guitar-playing abilities. He kept craning his neck, trying to look over the heads of the people around him so maybe he could find his friends at least. Unfortunately, his height was not giving him any help, so he just had to move along with the crowd and get himself pushed toward the Entrance Hall. 

__

At least I can get on the stairs out there, thought Harry, _then maybe I can find Ron and Hermione and Draco…._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco, too, was having problems moving without at least a dozen people underfoot. He, too, was looking for his former enemy and hoping to talk about what happened during the contest. And he, too, was having absolutely no luck doing it.

Draco shoved his way through the crowd, not being nearly as polite as Harry was. Why should he have been? He was a Slytherin, after all. Just as he got to the doorway from the Great Hall to the Entrance Hall, a strong set of fingers wrapped around his arm, a second set of the same kind of fingers set themselves over his mouth, and a voice hissed in Draco's ear. 

"Come with me, Draco. I need to speak with you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neville was getting quite a bit of attention, too. 

It wasn't exactly the kind of attention a bloke might like getting after a performance, though. At least, half of it wasn't.

Every boy in the crowd that came in contact with Neville chuckled cheerfully with him. They were all impressed that he had actually gotten up on the stage and said everything that was on all their minds. 

"There's the Gryffindor bravery, Neville!"

"Great song, Mate!"

"Way to tell those girls, eh, Neville?"

"Didn't know you knew what tits and asses were, Longbottom! Good show!"

However, every girl that got within striking distance, did. By the time Neville made it to Gryffindor Tower that night, he had more bruises on his body than he used to get when his Great Uncle Algie was still trying to make him do magic when he was seven. Even in the Tower, the girls did nothing but glare and beat whap him over the head with anything they could find.

As soon as he could make his escape, Neville rushed right up to the fifth year boys' dormitory. Soon after, his snores filled the dark room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Draco, how _dare_ you perform in this contest," hissed Lucius Malfoy. 

Draco glared down at the stone floor as his father berated him for his performances. He was used to being yelled at by Mister Malfoy.

Mister Malfoy slammed his cane down on the table Draco was leaning on, inches away from Draco's thigh. The _crack _of silver on slate brought matching eyes into a staring match. The gray irises were devoid of the smile of amusement that this sort of contest usually brought to a quartet of eyes. Instead, one pair held fear and defiance, the other fury and hostility.

Soon the silence was broken by another onslaught of criticism from Mister Malfoy. "How in Merlin's name could you _ever_ consent to singing with such riff-raff? A Ravenclaw, fine. Many of the smarter of them have been very useful over the years… But! A Hufflepuff? Pathetic. And a _Gryffindor_?" Mister Malfoy "tsk-tsked" quietly, shaking his head. "Not just any Gryffindor either, Draco. _Potter_. What _were_ you thinking, boy?"

Still Draco said nothing. He couldn't defend himself to his father. He couldn't tell his father that Boot and Macmillan really _weren't_ all that bad. Nor could he tell Mister Malfoy how his hatred of the Gryffindor in question had ebbed slowly away over the last few weeks. So Draco's silence remained.

"And what was that song you sang on your own?" demanded Mister Malfoy. "Did you enjoy making a fool of yourself? Did you _enjoy_ shedding tears in front of the entire student body of which you are a part? Did you not think of what that spectacle might do to your hold on the rest of your Housemates?" Mister Malfoy glared even harder at Draco. Draco wasn't sure how his father did it, but he did. 

Finally, Draco couldn't take it any longer. 

"Father, I don't particularly mind dealing with Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors. And I definitely don't mind baring my soul onstage. It's a huge weight off my shoulders to have gotten some things off my chest." Draco straightened and stormed past his father, starting to pace back and forth across the dungeon floor, gesticulating broadly and coming close to smack his father in the head a couple times. The whole time, his rant continued. "For crying out loud, Father, the bloody Sorting Hat said we should build House-to-House relations this year. It wasn't my place to refuse when Potter, Boot and Macmillan came to me and asked me to join their act. Don't you think it would have looked suspicious if I _didn't_ perform with them? And what of not performing at all? If I, the peer-appointed leader of Slytherin, hadn't performed, don't you think that would have been suspicious as well? Father, I performed to keep Slytherin House in the running for all those House points, and to uphold the prestige of Slytherin House." Draco stopped directly in front of Mister Malfoy. "Besides, we don't want Harry Potter to win _again_, do we?"

Lucius Malfoy's eyes narrowed to slivers of glistening silver. His mouth tightened to a thin line. He inhaled through angrily flared nostrils. After another infuriatingly intense staring match, the elder Malfoy nodded slowly.

"Well, at least you were trying to uphold appearances." Lucius set the snake-headed tip of his cane under Draco's chin and leaned close to his son. "But you dare do something this drastic _ever_ again without first requesting my approval, you shall need to find yourself a new setting to establish residence. I will _not_ be challenged again. Have I made myself clear, Draco?"

Draco stood defiantly with his chin held up by cold metal. "Crystal."

In one swift motion, Mister Malfoy dropped his cane to his side, straightened, and nodded curtly. With a sweep of robes, the elder Malfoy stormed toward the exit of the Potions classroom he'd drug his son into after the finish of the contest.

Draco leaned heavily against the table behind him, letting out a sigh of relief. He glanced at the doorway the elder Malfoy had just made his retreat through. The sneer Draco had inherited from his father twisted his features grotesquely. Then a single word escaped his lips.

"Wanker."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An hour before curfew, Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room, still wanting to talk to Draco. 

After the contest, he had been forced up the stairs by the rest of his housemates, each of them cheering for him and assuring him a top position in the ranking of the contest. Harry had smiled politely and nodded along with all the proclamations, thanking each person as they congratulated him.

But now all he wanted to do was talk to Draco Malfoy. 

Something happened during the contest. Harry wasn't sure what it was, but it was something. And now Harry was determined to speak with Draco.

He got up off the squashy armchair he'd been sitting in, and he left the Common Room. Harry paid no attention to his two best friends, who both asked where he was going as soon as he'd risen to his feet.

As soon as Harry was out the portrait hole, Hermione and Ron glanced at each other in worry.

"Do you know where it is?" asked Hermione quietly.

Ron nodded. He tried to rush calmly up to his and Harry's room, returning with a slight bulge in his robes.

Hermione nodded curtly. "Right, let's go find him."

The couple climbed out the portrait hole a minute later. Ron took the Potter Invisibility Cloak out from under his robes and swept it silently around them. Then all three members of the infamous Gryffindor Trio were out and about in the halls of the school.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry reached the Entrance Hall quickly. He hesitated at the bottom of the Main Staircase. _Now what_, Harry thought. But Harry didn't have much time to think about whether or not he should go to the Slytherin Common Room, because the person he was aiming to see was now coming toward him.

"Malfoy," said Harry, trying to block out the surprise in his voice.

"Potter," said Draco, doing the same.

At the same time, they both blurted out, "We have to talk-"

They stared at each other with confused but amused looks. Harry laughed a little. "Seems we've both been a bit confused by this afternoon."

Draco nodded slowly. "So what shall we do about it?"

Harry plopped down on the steps of the Main Staircase and patted the cold stone next to him. "Have a seat. Let's talk."

Draco raised a wary eyebrow.

"Malfoy, I don't bite," said Harry with a smile. "If anything, _I_ should be worried about _you_ biting, shouldn't I, Mister Slytherin?"

Draco smirked and moved to sit on the opposite side of the stair as Harry. He turned to face Harry. He leaned against the rungs the banister was built on top of, one leg bent up, an arm draped over his knee, his other foot resting at the base of the staircase.

"Alright," said Draco, "let's talk."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione and Ron were just about to sneak down the Main Staircase to find Harry when Hermione threw out an arm.

"Ow!" whispered Ron angrily. "What was that for?"

Hermione hissed at Ron. "Look at the bottom of the stairs."

Ron glanced down and saw something he could never even dreamed of thinking about. Harry and Draco were sitting at the base of the staircase, talking semi-amiably. Ron's invisible eyes widened to the size of volleyballs. He grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her out of sight range of the unlikely pair.

"What are we going to do?" asked Ron as he pulled the invisibility cloak off his and Hermione's heads.

Hermione smiled at Ron. A memory of a Muggle movie popped into her head, and a song started coming out her mouth. She started singing it, quickly editing the original words to fit their predicament.

"**I can see what's happening**_,_" she sang. 

Ron looked at her funny. "What?"

"**They had no clue before**," she continued.

Ron frowned at her. "Who?"

Hermione pointed down at the pair at the bottom of the steps.

"**They like each other and here's the bottom line…**

Our trio's grown to four_"_

Ron's eyes grew even bigger as he caught the gist of Hermione's singing. "Oh."

"**The soft caress of ankles, **

The magic everywhere,

And with all those romantic contest songs,

The conflict's disappeared."

Hermione smiled at Ron, and peeked down at Harry and Draco before looking back at Ron again. 

"**Can you see their love tonight?**

The peace that's finally come

Their world, for once, in perfect harmony,

Their wicked acts now done"

Ron nodded slowly, surprised at the pleasant conversation that seemed to be going on below.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry smiled at Draco, continuing to talk about the fun of the concert. Neither teen had the courage yet to broach the subject that was the foremost thought in each of their minds.

Harry's head turned to the same song Hermione's did, his mind singing along.

"_So many things to tell him,_

But how to make him see

Ask him, 'forget our past?' Impossible.

He'd simply laugh at me."

Harry sighed inwardly. "I couldn't believe Neville singing that song," said Harry amusedly, carrying on their meaningless exchange.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco nodded. "I couldn't believe the kid had the balls to sing that," he said with a hesitant grin. "Now we know where the bravery is in that kid."

He kept up the charade of caring about this pointless drivel he and Harry were engaged in. But in his mind, there was a vague tune playing itself. He didn't know where he'd heard it before, but he knew it was sometime when he was hanging out in a Muggle-populated area.

"We're holding back, we're hiding.

But why, I can't decide.

Why won't we say the things we're thinking of,

The things we feel inside?"

Draco stifled a sigh of his own. "And how about those ghosts?" 

Harry smiled at Draco and nodded. "Scared the crap out of me."

"Yeah," said Draco, shivering. "You saw my reaction to it."

"More like felt it, Malfoy," said Harry with a smile. "Having a Malfoy in your lap is more than just 'seeing' a reaction."

Draco felt some of the pale of his face be replaced by an uncharacteristic pink. "Shut up, Potter."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"**Can you see their love tonight?**" 

Hermione sang again, softly. She was smiling down at her best friend and the boy that had taunted them all for so long. 

"**The peace that's finally come**

Their world, for once, in perfect harmony,

Their wicked acts now done"

She turned back to Ron. 

"**Can you see their love tonight?**

You needn't look to hard,

Moving through the past's uncertainties

Love is where they are."

Hermione stepped up to Ron and took his hand.

"**And if he falls in love tonight,**

It can be assumed,

His rivalry with Draco's history…"

Ron frowned at Hermione, and sang a single line. "_In short, our pal is doomed._" 

Hermione pursed her lips, released Ron's hand and crossed her arms. She glanced over her shoulder at Harry and Draco. "Don't you want Harry to be happy?" she hissed.

"Happy, yes," said Ron, "but not stupid."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "He's not being stupid. He's just following his heart."

"Right. To Malfoy. Stupid." Ron shook his head. "It's not healthy."

Hermione sighed in frustration. "Whatever you say, Ron. Let's just leave them be, all right?"

Ron looked down at his best friend, sitting with his least favorite person in the whole school. With a frown and a sigh of his own, Ron threw the invisibility cloak around himself and Hermione, and they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

When they were nearly there, something Hermione had said triggered a question in his mind.

"What's this about a 'soft caress of ankles'? When was that?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Listen, Malfoy. We both know this conversation wasn't what we both came hunting for each other for." Harry sighed heavily. 

Draco was nodding. "You're right, Potter."

Harry pressed on. "So I think it's about time we just come out with it." He looked down at his hands. "Malfoy, I think-"

"I think we should be friends," said Draco in a rush. He didn't want Harry to say anything else because he didn't think he could deal with anything else.

Harry's head whipped up. "Right," he said, "Yeah, friends. No more of this stupid 'Potter versus Malfoy' crap, then?"

Draco nodded. "So. Friends?" He sat up and stretched a hand out to Harry.

Harry took Draco's hand. "Friends." He smiled at Draco. And Draco smiled back. They held there for a moment longer than was customary, staring at each other. 

Finally, Draco released Harry's hand. He stretched his arms high in the air and yawned. "Well, Potter, I think it's time that we both get our asses into bed." A sly smirk settled on Draco's face. "Because you know, I'm a prefect. I could take points for you being out of bed after hours."

Harry mock-glared at his new friend. "You wouldn't."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't I?" He winked. Then he stood and started back to the Slytherin dorms. At the end of the hallway leading off the Entrance Hall, Draco turned. Harry was climbing the Main Staircase toward Gryffindor Tower. "Hey Potter?"

Harry stopped and turned. "Yes, Malfoy."

"Good night."

Harry smiled. "Good night."

~*~TBC~*~


	23. Chapter 23: Results and Awards

Chapter Twenty-Three  
Results and Awards

The next morning, as Harry, Hermione, and Ron were descending the Main Staircase together, they saw a great mass of their fellow students standing in a large circle. From their vantage point on the stairs, the famed Gryffindor Trio could see exactly what was in the center of the mob.

There was the stool that annually bore the Sorting Hat at the opening feast of the year, and had held the Goblet of Fire just the year before. On the stool was a small box that resembled the treasure chests Muggles always had in their movies about pirates. It was a mahogany chest, with a rounded lid. Along every edge, there was ornate, and slightly tarnished, silverwork. In the center of the chest's front panel there was a locking mechanism shaped like the Hogwarts crest, or at least there would be if the chest was closed. The chest's lid was set open at a right angle to the chest itself, with chains connected on the inner lip of both sides on top and bottom. On the inside of the Chest of Judgment, there was absolutely nothing. All anyone could see was just the dark mahogany of the Chest itself.

There was a thin dark blue line drawn in a circle around the Chest of Judgment, with a ten-foot radius from stool to line. The mob of students was standing just at the rim of the circle, all eyeing the empty chest with interest and excitement.

Harry scanned the crowd, and his eyes easily found the blonde, right at the front of the crowd. As Harry watched, Draco glanced around at the crowd, and stepped forward into the circle, a small square of folded up parchment in his fingers.

The whole assembly gasped as the circle rose into a tall wall of mist surrounding the Slytherin. Draco hesitated for a split second, and glanced around himself at the mist wall. The mist was blindingly white, shimmering like a glitter-covered curtain dancing in the light. Draco took a slow breath and resumed walking toward the Chest.

The Chest itself started to glow bright gold. The once empty innards of the Chest began to shine upwards, as though it were full of gold doubloons, and the sun was beaming directly down into it.

Draco approached the chest slowly, his fingers fidgeting absently with the parchment. Once he was close enough, Draco reached out and dropped his picks for contest winner into the Chest.

The Chest of Judgment glowed with a pure white light. It was so bright, Draco had to put an arm up in front of his eyes to shield himself. When he looked back, the Chest had gone back to its previous dull and empty state. The mist around Draco and the Chest vanished instantly. Draco put his arm back down, and smiled. _Well, that's at least one vote for me, _Draco thought as he exited the circle amid soft exclamations of admiration from the rest of the student body.

Emboldened by Draco's foray across the Voting line, students started submitting their own votes for contest winner. Some went by themselves, others two and three at a time. Each time, the wall of mist rose around the voters, the chest shone brilliantly and then went back to its unremarkable dullness once the votes were cast.

Once students voted, they made their way into the Great Hall and thought nothing more of the Chest of Judgment. Many students moved past the Chest without voting, some needing more time to decide, others wanting to enjoy the mist wall on their own time, without the prying eyes of their schoolmates.

Harry shook his head and smiled as he descended the stairs behind Hermione and Ron. _Leave it to Draco to go and vote in front of all these people._ He smirked and headed into the Great Hall, opting for his own nice, quiet voting time.

After everyone was finished eating their breakfasts, Dumbledore wiped his mouth and beard clean of porridge and rose to his feet. He called for his students' attention. "Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a pleasant night's sleep after last evening's entertainment. Can we all give the performers another round of applause, please?"

Everyone in the Great Hall erupted in a great muddle of clapping, yelling and whistles of appreciation for the seventeen acts that had graced the stage the night before. Those nearest to performers clapped them on the backs, smiles wide.

"Yes, that'll do, I believe," said Dumbledore finally. "Now, the announcement of winners and awarding of prizes will come this evening, at seven o'clock on the button. There will be a grand ceremony to honor each of last evening's performers this evening. Do make sure you attend and cheer on your classmates." Dumbledore smiled at his charges, making a special effort to search out the performers and give each a personal smile of encouragement. "All right, then. I believe that will be all for me this morning." He smiled and spread his arms out. "Now go on, and have a splendid day." He glanced up at the ceiling and smiled warmly. "It looks like a glorious day. Please enjoy it. Off you go now!" He made a shooing motion with his hands, and the Hall started to empty, chairs scraping, and voices talking and laughing.

* * *

"Harry, stop worrying. You know you'll win." Ron patted his best mate on the shoulder and grinned. It was just after breakfast time, and the Trio had set themselves up before the fire for a long day of chess. Ron and Hermione were facing off over the chess board as Harry lounged nearby.

Harry looked over and forced a smile. "Thanks," Harry said softly. "You're full of hippogriff dung, but thanks all the same. I really think you and Hermione have it in the bag. You two were great." Harry stretched his legs out across the small table in front of him, a few feet away from the chess board, and tried to settle into the couch. He was finding that, all morning, he was extremely uncomfortable, no matter where or how he sat. The lack of warmth from a certain Slytherin's body was almost definitely to blame, Harry was sure of it. The fact that he couldn't get comfortable without Draco next to him was surprising to him, and it brought Harry's mind to the memory of what had happened the night before.

Why did Malfoy say we should just be friends? Doesn't he- Well... That is- Wouldn't he rather have more? He kept turning this thought over in his head. Harry knew he himself wanted more. Being together throughout the contest, coupled with the newfound camaraderie brought about by performing together, had solidified this idea in Harry's mind. Harry had thought that he was reading the signals coming from Draco rather well, thinking that maybe there was the possibility of something between them.

There is_ something between us. He offered his hand in friendship again_, his head reminded him. _I have a new friend in Draco Malfoy. Officially._ Harry let a small smile grace his lips as he remembered taking hold of the soft skin of Draco's hand.

Last night, Harry had really wanted to come clean, to bare his soul in a sense, and to tell Draco exactly how he felt. But Draco had interrupted. Harry supposed it was for a good reason. After all, Draco's father _was_ a known supporter of the Dark Lord. Maybe it was good Harry didn't reveal everything.

Harry sighed heavily. He wished he could have just opened his mouth last night and told Draco once and for all _exactly_ what he felt. _Maybe this afternoon..._

Harry nodded to himself. _Yes, I'll send Draco a note, asking to speak with him... Maybe this time I'll have the Gryffindor bravery with me and I'll be able to say what I want..._ His features were set resolutely. It was final, then. Draco Malfoy wouldn't know what hit him. He shifted himself again on the couch, still unable to get comfortable.

* * *

The day moved on as though it were a normal Saturday, save the buzz rippling through every witch and wizard over that night's ceremony. No one could keep their wits about them due to their excitement about the announcement due that night. Even some of the teachers were excited about the revealing of the winners.

Professor McGonagall asked Neville, Seamus, Dean, Harry, and Ron to stop by her office for a moment just before lunchtime. When they arrived at their Head of House's office, she was wearing her customary stern look.

"Gentlemen, I have something very serious to discuss with you." She moved around to the front of her desk and leaned back on it, her arms crossed severely. Each boy was wondering what they had all done to be called there. "Yes, very serious indeed."

She looked down her nose at them all in that infuriating way that she often did, her lips set in a thin line.

Then she smiled widely at them all. "Thank you."

The five boys all let out great sighs of relief.

"You're welcome, Professor."

"Our pleasure!"

"It was nothing."

"Glad to do it, Ma'am."

"No big deal."

"But it was a big deal, Thomas," said McGonagall, starting to get uncharacteristically teary-eyed. "None of my students has ever done anything so thoughtful in all my years of teaching here." She smiled again. "And it meant a great deal to me. So I just wanted to tell you five boys that. Thank you again."

The boys all started toward the door, smiles on their faces, when she spoke again.

"Oh, and boys?"

The Gryffindor boys stopped and turned to look at their Head of House. "Yes?" they asked in unison.

"I hope you beat the pants off everyone else!"

Harry, Dean, Neville, Ron and Seamus exchanged big grins, said their thank yous, and set off toward lunch.

* * *

In the Slytherin Commons, Draco stayed as far from Pansy and Millicent as he could that day. He was still quite angry they had singled him out to sing to the night before. Most people would be flattered by all of the trouble the girls went to, but Draco was simply aggravated by it all.

Several times, each girl had tried to cuddle up to him and ask him to forgive them, but he was having none of it. Just after lunch, when the pair tried to double-team him, he decided he'd had enough.

"Would you two just bugger off, for Hades' sake!" shouted Draco, sitting up suddenly. "Just back the hell off!"

Millicent, who was seated on the armrest of the couch, leaned back and away from Draco, as if she had been slapped. Pansy was practically thrown off the couch since she'd placed herself practically in Draco's lap.

"Draco... Sweetie-" started Pansy, looking hopeful.

"Parkinson!" Draco barked. "I don't want to hear this crap from you _or_ Bulstrode. Didn't I just tell you two to bugger off?"

"I don't understand why you didn't like our performance," blurted out Millicent angrily. "Snape liked it just fine!"

"Millie!" Pansy cried out, at the same time as Draco yelped, "Ugh, Snape?!?"

"What?" asked Millicent. "He _did_, Pans! You saw him. You know he-"

Draco covered his ears, a vile sneer twisting his features. "This is _disgusting_, Parkinson, Bulstrode. Ugh!" He tasted the bile at the back of his throat as the nasty mental images started swarming in his mind's eye. "Oh-! Oh Merlin, get it out… Get it _out!_" He glared at the two girls. "Get away from me, you vermin. Just _get away._" He shuddered violent, shaking his head. _This is a mental picture I _never_ want to come in contact with _ever_ again. Ugh, disgusting…_

Pansy's face fell. She stood up, and Millicent got to her feet in the next instant. Pansy's eyes dropped to the floor. "All right, Draco," she whispered, backing away. "We- We're so-"

"I said I didn't want to hear it. Leave." The mask of disgust he'd perfected over the last sixteen years solidified on his face. He turned away from the girls and stared into the fire. Millicent and Pansy moved to sit someplace else. Anywhere Draco wasn't, to be exact.

Draco sighed heavily once the girls were gone, then shook off the mental images for the last time. He wiggled a bit, trying his best to get good and relaxed. He was having just as much trouble with his comfort as Harry was. He was stretched out along the couch before the fire, one arm tucked under his head like a pillow, the other tracing patterns idly on the stone floor. He wiggled a bit more, wishing he had a lap on which to lay his feet. And there seemed to be only one lap made to the proper height for his foot-propping taste. At that, his thoughts turned again to his former nemesis who, in the course of a few weeks, had become a fellow performer, and then a friend.

Just then, the door to the rest of the school opened and in came Vin and Greg, followed closely by a beautiful, pure white owl. Draco could have sworn the owl gave his cronies a dirty look before she floated across the Common Room and to his side. She glanced down at Draco with a pained look, as though she was disgusted with her current location. Then she ruffled her feathers, shaking off her disdain. She took on a dignified look and stuck out her leg to Draco.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "And who might you be?" he asked, taking the rolled up parchment from the snowy owl's leg. He ran a finger over the soft feathers of the owl's stomach and nodded his thanks. The owl hooted softly and took to flight again. As the bird reached the closed door, she dug a taloned foot into Pansy's shoulder and squawked. Pansy was just leaving the Commons anyway, and quickly opened the doorway, just to get the owl off her that much sooner.

Draco watched the exchange with mild amusement then turned to the scroll still in hand. There was a small wax seal holding the scroll closed, shaped like a lightning bolt. Draco knew that meant this note could only be from one person.

He unrolled the parchment quickly, wanting to know what Harry had to say.

* * *

"Potter. What can I do for you?"

Harry looked up from his hands with a soft smile. Draco was leaning against the door frame. His arms were crossed over his chest and a faint smirk was on his lips. Harry couldn't help but think Draco looked simply delicious.

"Hey Malfoy." Harry uncurled his legs, hung them over the edge of the table and made to hop down.

"Don't get down on my account, Potter." Draco straightened and moved to sit on the top of Snape's desk. As Draco bent his own legs up and under him, Harry relaxed and just let his legs swing loosely. Draco leaned back, resting his palms on the desktop behind him.

For a moment, they sat in silence. They stared at the floor, or around the room, but mostly at each other. Harry could feel the connection between them every time their eyes met. But he couldn't manage to put what he was feeling into words. _Where's the Gryffindor bravery now?_ he thought grumpily. He took a deep breath and caught Draco's eye again. "Malfoy, there's something I need to say."

"I should bloody well hope so. I'm rather tired of the staring matches. You're not nearly as good at them as you are at Quidditch. Rotten luck for me that it's not the other way around, hmm?" Draco smiled slowly and Harry thought he saw a quick wink. "So then. What've you got to tell me, mate?"

A ripple of excitement went through Harry when Draco called him "mate." Harry shook it off mentally and took another steadying breath. "It's just this, Malfoy-"

"What in blue blazes are you doing in my classroom?" roared Snape, slamming his way into the room and glaring back and forth between the two boys.

Harry clambered off the tabletop to stand in front of it, his eyes wide as saucers. "I- we- er, I mean- Malfoy and I- um, that is to say-"

Draco stayed seated on Snape's desk, merely stretching out his legs and letting them hang down over the edge of the desk. He smiled easily at Snape. "We were having a little chat, Professor."

Snape raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And why is it that I don't believe that, I wonder."

"I'm really not sure, sir." Draco's smile turned very innocent.

Snape crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Harry as he continued to speak to Draco. "Why do I get the feeling I broke up the beginnings of a duel? What's the matter, Potter? Incapable of conceding defeat to Mister Malfoy here?"

"Actually, sir, if you look," Draco gestured back and forth between himself and Harry. "Neither of us have our wands drawn. There wasn't even a threat to duel." He smiled sweetly at Harry, who looked back surprised, and then Draco looked back at his Head of House. "I can assure you, Professor, you merely interrupted Potter as he was about to reveal some extraordinary secret to me."

Snape searched the two boys with his eyes, looking for drawn wands, menacing expressions, _anything _that could give him a reason to hand out detentions, but saw nothing. Disappointed, Snape glared at Harry again and hissed out, "Well. What were you about to tell Mister Malfoy, Potter? Let's hear it then."

Harry inhaled sharply, his eyes wide with fear. "I- um."

Draco sneered. "Yes, Potter, do tell." The menace coming from Draco's lips, Harry noticed with a bit of relief, did not reach his eyes.

Harry glanced down at his hands, his mind racing. He cast around quickly for something to tell the Slytherins. Then it came to him. "I just wanted to tell Malfoy that- that he had my vote for the contest. That's all, Professor Snape."

"And you came all the way here to tell him this, Potter?" sneered the potions master. "Why?"

"My choice of venue, sir," lied Draco easily. "I didn't feel like traipsing all over the school to find out what Potter wanted. For obvious reasons I had no desire to make my way up to the-" Draco took on a sour expression. "The _sacred_ Gryffindor Tower. This was the easiest place to meet that wasn't the Slytherin Commons."

Snape looked somewhat suspicious, but then again, that was not abnormal for the Slytherin Head of House. After a bit of deliberation, he nodded slowly. "Well then, Potter. Fifteen points from Gryffindor House."

Harry gaped at the professor. "What for, sir?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Snape donned a wicked smile. "Ten for the lack of enough imagination to choose a place to meet yourself. And five for putting your grubby shoes all over my table. And I think we'll make it an even twenty for your questioning me." Snape glowered at the Gryffindor. "Now both of you. Out of my classroom. It's nearly dinnertime anyway, so off with you." Snape turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, his robes billowing impressively behind him.

"I really need to learn how to do that," Draco murmured.

Harry hid a smile. After a moment he said, "Hey, thanks."

Draco glanced at him. "For what?"

"Covering my backside with Snape, that's what." Harry smiled now. "I appreciate it. At least a little. He still took off House points."

"No problem. That's what friends are for, right?" Draco grinned back. "Hey, you'll probably gain all the points back tonight anyway." Draco patted Harry's shoulder in a comforting way. "Just don't expect first, buddy. That's my spot."

Harry laughed. "Someone's confident."

Draco nodded, grinning. "You better believe it. If the Great Potter lowered himself enough to vote for me, who's to say I _won't_ win?"

"All right. I give," said Harry, holding up his hands in defeat. He glanced at his watch and then back at Draco. "Snape was right. It's just about dinnertime. Let's go eat."

Draco nodded. "Let's go then."

They walked in a comfortable silence toward the Great Hall. When they were just a few feet away, Draco stopped and turned toward Harry. He caught Harry's elbow. "Potter?"

"Yeah, Malfoy?" Harry stopped too, spinning a bit to face Draco and looking at him quizzically. Harry tilted his head to the side.

Draco let go. "What _were _you going to tell me before? I know you didn't just want to tell me I had your vote." Draco raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Harry just smiled mysteriously. "You'll have to wait and see. I'm hungry. Talk to you later, mate." He smiled cheerfully, patted Draco on the shoulder, and walked the last few feet to the doors of the Great Hall, knowing Draco would be standing there staring at his back for a while as he walked away. He smirked to himself as he walked inside the Hall.

* * *

"Now go have a rousing game of chess or Exploding Snap with your Housemates for a bit," said Dumbledore. "And give the judges and me a chance to count out all your votes, and then we shall-"

Just as Dumbledore was about to dismiss the students from dinner, there was a loud crack, and a body appeared out of nowhere in front of Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers. The person standing before Dumbledore was staring down at his clothes in horror.

"Ah. Mister Longbottom. Didn't expect it would be you." Dumbledore fought to hide his smile as he and the rest of the school stared at the Gryffindor.

Neville's robes had been covered with white lettering. Emblazoned everywhere on his robes was the word "CHEATER!" in big bold letters. It was even written across the poor boy's forehead, though he had yet to discover that fact.

All over the Great Hall, students started erupting in laughter. Neville's shoulders slumped, and even though he thought he'd said it softly, many of the school's inhabitants heard him mutter, "I only did it so I didn't have too terrible a showing…" Even Dumbledore chuckled at that. Then he patted the boy on the shoulder.

"All right, Mister Longbottom. Time to take your leave of the spotlight, I'd say." Neville nodded sadly and trudged over to sit with the rest of his housemates. "Oh," Dumbledore continued, "and since you took it upon yourself to try to fix the contest, I'm afraid you're now disqualified from the competition. If you were in a position to receive a prize, I'm sorry, but you can no longer collect it." Neville nodded and frowned sadly. Dumbledore shook his head a bit, disappointed, and then clapped his hands together. "As I was saying before Mister Longbottom made his unexpected appearance… We shall all reconvene in a little more than an hour, once the judges and I have our counting done. Now off you go."

* * *

Draco stood and glanced over at the Gryffindor table, hoping to catch Harry's eye so they could continue the conversation that Harry had started before dinner. Unfortunately for Draco, however, Harry was either paying him no attention, or purposely not looking at him. Either way, it was driving Draco mad. He sighed in frustration and started for the door.

Blaise followed Draco's gaze across the Hall. Then he caught up to his best friend. "He doesn't want anything to do with you, hmm?"

Draco stopped short. "What did you say?"

"I asked if he wanted anything to do with you." Blaise drew up next to Draco and fell in step with him once Draco started walking again.

Draco increased his speed minutely, trying to shake Blaise off. "I'm positive I've no idea who you're referring to, Blaise."

"Sure you do, Draco." Blaise steered them into a nearby, and luckily vacant, classroom. "I think you know exactly who I'm referring to, because that's exactly who you were watching all during dinner. Just like it's exactly who you've been staring at for the last year, and exactly who you've been pining over for ages."

Draco's eyes grew wide, but he quickly built up his defenses. "Honestly, Blaise, I've no clue who you're-"

"Potter," Blaise cut in.

Draco couldn't keep up the facade this time. He leaned against a nearby desk and stammered incoherently for a while. Blaise just looked on, amused. After a couple minutes, Draco stopped yammering. Instead, he kept opening and closing his mouth, trying to decide how to reply, and only succeeding in looking like a very oddly-shaped fish.

"You finished blundering about now, Draco?" asked Blaise with a smirk.

Draco nodded mutely.

"Good. Now, as you can tell, I'm much more aware of what's going on in your head than you are." Draco made to reply indignantly, but he only exceeded in becoming an oddly-shaped fish flapping around out of water. "You need to do something to gain Potter's trust before you can even think about getting into his trousers."

Draco floundered a bit more. Then he finally regained his composure and grumbled, "I'll have you know we've made headway on that already." He shook his head as Blaise raised a surprised eyebrow. "Wait- That doesn't sound right. I've made headway in the trust department. That's what I meant." He straightened up, trying to regain control of the conversation. "And I do _not_ want into Potter's trousers." His mind added silently, _Just into his heart... Although getting into his trousers would be an added bonus..._

Blaise smirked amusedly at his best friend's discombobulated state. "Right then. I'll let you go on believing that last bit." He nodded slowly. "But you've 'made headway,' hmm? And how's that exactly."

Draco crossed his arms sternly. "Not that it's much your business, but we're friends."

"Friends. I'm impressed." He smirked even harder than before. "Who'd have thought. Potter and Malfoy. Friends."

"No kidding. Who knows. Maybe it'll be You-Know-Who and Dumbledore next." Draco smirked. "Let's go relax a bit. I need to be well-rested when I win first at the contest." Draco elbowed Blaise in the side and grinned.

"You'll have to pry the award out of my cold, dead fingers, Malfoy." Blaise thumped Draco on the shoulder and pulled a face.

"Y'know, Zabini, that can be arranged." Draco grinned harder and slapped Blaise on the back. Then he threw his arm around Blaise's shoulders and said, "Come on then. Let's go so I can slaughter you in a chess match before I slaughter you in the competition."

"Yeah, right. You talk big, mate, but that's all you are." And Blaise threw an arm around Draco's back and the pair made their way to the Slytherin Commons.

* * *

When the student body entered the Great Hall, it looked exactly as it had the night before, save a few small details. On the left-hand corner of the stage, there was a thick purple haze surrounding what looked to be the trophy table. There were quite a few small statuettes on the table, but the curtain of haze around the table was so thick that no one could even see the shape of the trophies, let alone whose names had been engraved on each. The small stool with the Chest of Judgment stood just in front of the haze. The Chest was closed and locked shut.

As everyone filed into the Hall, a booming voice echoed over them, appearing to come from absolutely nowhere. "Please return to the seats you occupied last evening. Same seats, everyone!"

* * *

Harry smiled at Draco as they sat down together. They relaxed into the soft couch and got themselves settled in for the ceremony. Harry's smile grew as a pair of legs dropped themselves in his lap. He glanced over at Draco with raised brows.

"What? Just because we're friends now doesn't mean you're not getting my feet in your lap." Draco slipped his arms behind his head. "You don't mind too much, do you Potter?"

Harry smirked. "Oh no, Malfoy. I _love_ having your grubby feet just under my nose."

Draco pulled a face, but just like before, the nasty look didn't reach his eyes, which were smiling back at Harry cheerfully. "Good then." He wiggled his feet. "Enjoy!"

"I suppose I should be glad," Harry said with a smirk. Before Draco could fully agree with him, he continued. "I should be glad you're not fond of going barefoot. At least that gives my nose a bit of a break."

Draco put on a look of mock indignation. "I don't know what you're on about, Potter. I'll have you know my feet, just like the rest of me, smell sweeter than a rose. Malfoys do _not_ smell."

Harry laughed softly and stuck out his tongue. "You are a brat, Draco. You know that."

"You bet, Harry." Draco smiled at their use of given names. If his memory served him right, it was the first time it had happened in the entire time they'd known each other without either of them creating a big fuss about it. "Good luck, old chap."

"You too, mate."

* * *

Once everyone was situated, Seamus climbed back onto the stage. "Good evening!" he cried. A few people in the audience answered back. "I'd like to thank you all for coming back for the exciting conclusion to our fabulous musical extravaganza. I'm sure you're all just dying to find out if the votes you cast were worth the parchment you wrote them on, or if there was an utter upset. I know I'm ready to find out. So please welcome back everyone's favorite headmaster who, by the way, seems to be one of the fastest talkers around, if his performance is any evidence. Professor Dumbledore!" He held out his hand and gestured to Dumbledore, who smiled graciously and stood.

Minerva McGonagall giggled to herself, simply tickled to see the twinge of embarrassed pink appear on the tops of her boss's cheeks. She sat back in her chair, settling in for the moment, knowing she wouldn't be sitting too much longer.

Dumbledore took the stage among hoots and cheers. Once he was at center stage, all the noise died away immediately, as though he'd pushed a button that rendered everyone in the place mute. He smiled warmly. "Well. I see you're all anxious to learn the winners of our superb singing contest. As I already know myself, I'm not nearly as anxious. However, I do suppose we should be getting on with things." He glanced at the ceiling. The sky was a deep purplish blue, and specks of stars were popping out all over. The candles that floated above everyone's heads were flickering with their soft light. Dumbledore closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then blew out slowly.

Instead of a normal exhalation, the headmaster's breath had turned to a swift wind, snuffing out every one of the thousands of candles floating above his students and fellow professors. Many people gasped in alarm, grabbing onto whoever was nearest and holding them tight.

And yes, Draco was once again deposited safely in Harry's lap.

After a moment of terror, people realized that they had not been ushered into complete darkness, for the mist curtain around the contest trophies was shining brightly in the darkness. And all around Dumbledore, there was something like a spotlight, illuminating him alone. "Nothing to fear, ladies and gentlemen," he said calmly. "Nothing to fear at all. I suppose I should have mentioned that our ceremony needs a bit of darkness."

"A _bit_?" murmured Draco in Harry's ear. "I think this is a tad more than a bit."

Harry smiled into the darkness. "Not very fond of the dark, are you Draco?" he asked sweetly. He was answered with a sharp poke in the side. He laughed softly. "I suppose, though, I should have had that answer as soon as you jumped into my lap for the second time in as many days. I'm beginning to think I was right yesterday when I called you a bloody coward." Harry smirked.

Draco turned around in Harry's lap, so he was straddling Harry's legs, his chest and face just inches from Harry's, and he glared hard at Harry. A long finger stabbed itself into Harry's chest, accenting every word. "I. Am. Not. A. Coward. Got it?"

Even in the near-blackness of the Hall, Harry could see the anger and frustration in Draco's eyes. Harry put his hands up in a sign of defeat. "Got it, Draco. I'm sorry." His hands dropped toward his lap, and landed on Draco's thighs. Right then, Harry realized that their position was not exactly the most innocent of positions. He bit his lip. "Er- Draco?"

"Yeah, Harry?" Draco was settling back on his heels, looking at Harry questioningly.

"Could you please climb off me now? Last time I had someone in my lap like this, it was a girl, and my body might start to get the wrong idea…" Harry cooked up the lie quickly, because he could feel his body already responding to having the blonde so close to him.

Draco's eyes grew wide. He clambered off Harry's lap and flopped back down on the couch. "Geez, Potter- Haven't gotten any action lately? I mean really… Getting a rise over something like that…" Draco shook his head and smiled. "You amaze me, Harry."

"Hey, it's not my fault you were all over me like that. And whether or not I've 'gotten any action' is my business." Harry crossed his arms over his chest and turned to look at the headmaster. He was speaking again.

"Yes, now that we've all had time to have our eyes adjust to the new lighting, let's get on with the ceremony." Dumbledore smiled out at the sea of faces he could barely make out in the dark. When he opened his mouth again, a song sprang forth, surprising everyone in the Hall. The entire room went silent, listening to the headmaster's words.

"We all may feud, we all may fight,

But we came as friends in peace last night.

"With open hearts, some came to sing

And now, it's them we're honoring.

They gave up time, and worked to show

Us all friendship's the way to go.

With cheerful souls and gladsome song,

Some told us what is right and wrong.

Some told us of what they might want.

Others sang merely to taunt.

But most of all our singers gave

Us insights into how to behave.

"Harsh words and hurt were not enough

So now friends, all in Hufflepuff.

Scandalizing slights gone, we saw,

And now friends, all in Ravenclaw.

Hatred ran off, went out the door,

So now friends, all in Gryffindor.

A new time is here to usher in,

And now friends, all in Slytherin.

"With no more grudges, no more battles,

There's nothing out there we can't handle.

Friendships were made to last the years,

While joyous songs fell on our ears.

Happiness and fun came round

While we listened to the lovely sounds.

"Sing one, sing all, dear girls and boys,

Sing out above all raucous noise.

Sing out for hope. Sing out for love.

Sing out and o'er war rise above.

Sing out for truth. Sing out for peace.

Sing out together and let war cease.

Sing out for you. Sing out for me.

Sing out so everyone can see.

Sing out and show things can be done

And by singing, let's join as one.

"Bring out beauty from every place

And bring out smiles on every face.

Show the world that peace is grand

And take your schoolmates' proffered hands.

"So now tonight, let's raise our voices

And let's find out who were our choices.

Since after all, this was a game-

Let's see who gets the winner's fame.

Fifteen acts from which we select

Our most favorite, Winner Elect.

It was tough, and harder than most,

And now it's time for one to boast.

They performed for us, did their best,

And then we were put to the test.

We made our pick, we cast our vote,

And picked out those who rocked the boat.

"But none can doubt that they all cause

A thundering round of your applause!

So clap your hands, scream and shout,

And then our Winner I'll point out.

They wrote their songs, and sang them too,

And now there's only one thing to do.

Please cheer and praise them as you ought

And show them their work was not for naught."

Then the headmaster went silent. The crowd erupted into applause for both their headmaster, and their classmates. Dumbledore gave everyone an appreciative smile. He held up his hands to calm the crowd. The twinkle in his eye was even sharper than usual, his eyes nearly shining in the darkness. He shoved his hands into his pockets and then brought them back out again, fisted tightly. The headmaster brought his hands up and then tossed the two handfuls of sparkling dust over the crowd. As the dust sought out the performers from the previous night, Dumbledore began singing again.

"Now it's time to remind you all

Of the great acts shown in this Hall.

Our show began with five great pals

Singing to a favored gal."

Six figures appeared behind Dumbledore. One, in black robes made of velvet, was sitting, and the other five, in scarlet velvet robes, were huddled around the seated figure.

"The first of you to share their voice

Were five of the Gryffindor boys.

They sang to McGonagall,

And made us smile, one and all."

The robes melted away to reveal that a red-faced Professor McGonagall and her five fifth-year boys were on the stage. Dean and Seamus bent to one knee in front of the older woman. Ron and Harry each put a hand on McGonagall's shoulder. Neville stood behind McGonagall with his hands on her shoulders. Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville all smiled warmly at their Head of House.

"About exactly how much she means

Sang Ron, Harry, Neville, Seamus, and Dean.

The Lion boys in their sharing

Reminded us to not stop caring.

Remember that we are all friends

And that through love, we'll meet good ends."

The six Gryffindors disappeared and reappeared back in their seats. They glanced round at each other and grinned. Dumbledore continued his song.

"The second act caused quite a stir.

Seems Neville wished a riot to spur."

A lone figure with the same scarlet hooded robe was standing on stage now.

"Longbottom's act made you girls mad

While you boys thought it not so bad."

The robes lifted off Neville's shoulders and disappeared slowly. A few of the boys in the audience chuckled softly, remembering Neville's act. The girls nearby invariably lashed out, smacking as many of the sniggering boys upside the head as possible.

"Go on, boys, laugh loud as you might.

None of you will be loved much tonight."

All the girls stopped whacking the boys about and started laughing. The boys' laughter died quickly away.

"Neville may not have been too kind,

But he, at least, could speak his mind.

Neville may be crass, he may be rude

But he has a handle on 'attitude!'

He can speak up if that's his will,

But keep on like this and your friend-count's nil."

At that, everyone got a good chuckle, even Neville himself. Then Neville vanished from the stage, leaving the singing Headmaster alone again.

"Our third act came and set out flying,

Bringing oohs and ahhs without much trying."

Two figures in deep emerald green robes appeared on the stage. Their bulky statures gave away instantly who these two hooded figures were.

"And may I say, Misters Goyle and Crabbe,

Your act was def'nitely far from drab."

The two Slytherins tipped their heads back, dropping the hoods from their heads. The boys crossed their arms and stood back to back, giving superior looks to the crowd before them.

"They sang about their Quidditch skill

Meanwhile giving us a thrill

They've got the flying down all right,

And as we know, they're quite the sight.

They showed us they're flying aces

They make their turns in all the right places.

And your Wronski Feints, what a show!

But now it's time for you to go."

The two boys disappeared from the stage and ended back up in their seats next to Draco again, smiling proudly. After all, it wasn't every day that a pair of Slytherins got such high praise from the Headmaster. In the meantime, Dumbledore was continuing with his song.

"After the boys, we had three girls

Who don't like when insults are hurled.

And Neville, son, do watch your back,

Since your act, these girls might attack."

Dumbledore smiled as three robed figures appeared behind him. The three scarlet-robed figures had their heads bowed low, their faces covered by the hoods.

"Gryffindors are known to be brave,

And these three girls remind us to behave,

Or certain wrath just may be seen

From Katie, Alicia and Angelina."

Their robes shimmered and were gone instantly. Unlike previous groups, these three were ready and struck a pose as soon as they were unveiled. Angelina was in the center was pointing to the ceiling, her wand drawn. On her right, Katie was crouched low, pointing her wand out and away from the group. Alicia was on Angelina's left, her back turned to Angelina, and was holding her wand with both hands, its tip just inches away from her nose. A confident grin was spread across each girl's face.

"You may sulk, and you may glower,

But these three showed they've got power.

Be cautious boys or you will see

You shouldn't upset the Gryffie Three."

All three girls smirked and nodded a bit, just before they were sent back to their seats. Dumbledore sang on.

"Let's talk of a fam'ly filled with love,

The most connected I know of."

A lone figure, again in the scarlet that people were now seeing was in honor of the Gryffindor colors, appeared behind Dumbledore.

"And youngest of all came up here,

Bringing with her those she holds dear."

The robe glowed for a second and was gone, revealing Ginny Weasley, smiling sweetly at the crowd.

"Her song was pure celebration

And truly, I share in her elation.

For family is all you require

To help you through all times dire.

With her brothers right beside her,

Ginny has all their love to guide her.

Ginny's song may bring you hope,

And turn to your kin to help you cope."

Ginny blew kisses to all her brothers still at Hogwarts, and then vanished back to her seat. Dumbledore smiled softly at the redhead before carrying on his song.

"The next act here onstage was me,

So let's move on to others seen."

Dumbledore shook his head and grinned at his students. Then he continued singing.

"Our next pair caused a commotion

For their target didn't like the notion

Of being onstage, being draped across,

But Draco, son, let's not be cross!"

Two emerald-robed figures appeared behind Dumbledore. They tossed back their heads, throwing the hoods off before they even had the chance to disappear. Pansy and Millicent both smoothed down their hair and pouted over the slight chance that they didn't look their absolute best.

"Admit it, this wasn't much of a hardship.

After all, it is you they worship!

Miss Parkinson and Bulstrode too,

I must say I admire you.

You came here and made feelings known

Though your affection makes Malfoy groan.

Good for you, keep your chins held high

For you each will find a proper guy."

The girls smirked, stuck their tongues out at Draco, and then were back at their seats not a moment later. Draco crossed his arms stubbornly across his chest and glared up at the singing headmaster. Harry just snorted as the headmaster sang on.

"The next act up caused quite a stir

As his costume left little to infer."

A figure in robes of a sparkling golden yellow appeared on the stage behind Dumbledore.

"Yes, Justin caught all the ladies' eyes.

That leather was certainly a surprise."

The warm yellow robe faded away to show Justin, smiling timidly. Many were disappointed to see that he was not decked out in leather like he was last time he graced the stage.

"But clothes aside, the young man spoke

Of how he was a lucky bloke.

And how he got a girl from France

To come with him and share a dance.

Oh! And extra points for your creation

Of audience participation.

And 'cause of you, if there's a poll,

There's now more fans of rock and roll."

Justin blushed furiously as he vanished from the stage. Once Dumbledore had the Hufflepuff in his sights again, the headmaster winked before moving on.

"Following was a loving pair

That often shows us how to care."

A pair in scarlet Gryffindor robes appeared, their hands clasped between them.

"Hermione and her beau Ron

Should be the model love's based on."

One scarlet covered arm reached up and pushed back the hood of the other, exposing Hermione's bushy brown hair and smiling face. The robes disappeared a moment later.

"A close friendship was their beginning,

And their shared passion's hardly thinning.

They show their love in every way

Plus, they went public yesterday!

Before fam'ly, friends, and the whole school,

They kept their heads and kept their cool.

Of those two, I am quite proud

After all, they confessed before this huge crowd!"

Hermione blushed, and Ron's ears turned a bit red, but both were beaming. Ron leaned over and gave Hermione a quick kiss on the cheek, gaining whoops and hollers from much of the crowd. Then they, too, disappeared back to their seats.

"And then it came, the true surprise

Four Quidditch captains before our eyes.

Four figures, in four different colored robes, appeared on the stage now. The first figure was golden yellow, the second a deep sapphire blue, the third a bright scarlet, and the fourth a rich emerald.

"These four boys came out as one

And showed the rest how things are done."

The boys each ripped off their robes, to wild whoops and catcalls from the crowd. All four Quidditch Captains crossed their arms severely over their chests. Harry and Draco, and Terry and Ernie, turned their backs to one another. Harry and Terry fixed each other with fierce looks.

"Not one foresaw this mix of boys.

With Potter there, and young Malfoy,

And Macmillan and Boot there too,

One might think chaos would ensue!"

Harry and Terry uncrossed their arms, dropping the angry facades. They stuck out their hands and shook them genially. They pulled each other close and threw their free arms around each other. At the same time, Draco and Ernie moved around the hugging pair and sharing a handshake and hug of their own.

"Not one person though could dare expect

Them all to drop the pride they protect.

But drop they did, with great results,

And even my heart did somersaults!"

While Dumbledore sang, the boys continued their friendly greetings, slapping each other on the back before they moved on to the next friend. As they were disappearing, Harry and Draco were throwing their arms around each other's shoulders, pulling each other close. They appeared on their shared loveseat with their arms still around the other. After a moment like that, they pulled away slowly, realizing their positions. They settled back in their seats again to listen as Dumbledore continued his song, not caring to move completely away from each other just yet. But if Harry thought he'd soon be getting a bit more personal space, he was quite wrong.

"The next one up was not quite clear,

But rather this one was mostly sheer."

A silvery form appeared onstage then, cackling nastily under the robe. The dreadful sound send shivers through the crowd. Harry found himself even warmer than he was a second before, due to the scared Slytherin pushing up against him in the darkness. He smiled in spite of himself and set a comforting hand running up and down Draco's back.

"This act goes down for who scared the most,

Thanks not just in part to the Hogwarts Ghosts."

Peeves threw the ghostly robe off himself, and sneered at the whole audience. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a balloon just like the one he'd armed himself with the night before.

"Peeves and his cohorts chilled our bones

With all their creepy undertones.

And though you can't vote for that crew,

Peeves hopes still that it's what you'll do."

Peeves winked at the audience and tiptoed up behind the headmaster as Dumbledore continued. He motioned to the students to keep quiet about the impending evil deed.

"'Get him wet' was what Peeves was thinking

Then we watched as his plans went sinking."

Peeves threw the balloon at Dumbledore, just as he had the night before. Again, Dumbledore was ready with the deflecting spell. And again, Snape wound up furious and spluttering.

"Instead of me, 'twas Snape that got soaked,

And once again, he's no happy bloke."

Dumbledore chuckled softly as Peeves disappeared, swearing and shaking his transparent fist at the headmaster. Snape was soaked to the bone again, and ranting on and on as he stormed out of the Hall, saying something about a 'slimy little wretch' and a 'blasted old codger.' Dumbledore winked at McGonagall and they shared amused grins before he continued on.

"Our next pair up sang of ardor

That neither thought could go much farther."

Yet another pair of scarlet robed figures materialized on the stage behind Dumbledore. He smiled as he went on.

"Lucky for them, they both got brave,

Ginny and Colin let their facades cave."

At the same time, the pair pulled their hoods slowly off their heads. Colin smiled down at Ginny and cupped her cheek in one of his hands. She smiled and leaned into the touch.

"Though her brothers might be defensive,

These two friends quit being so pensive.

Unrequited love wasn't their lot

Now you can wish for what they've got."

Ginny blushed and smiled up at Colin, and he slipped an arm around her waist. He grinned at her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"It started off as love from afar,

And just look now at where they are.

Good luck, dear Ginny and good Colin.

And Colin- be ready for lots of kin!"

The audience chuckled lightly, everyone knowing full well the Weasley clan's prowess at reproduction. Colin's eyes got wide for a moment before he and his lady disappeared from the stage. Dumbledore winked at him fondly and then continued on.

"The next act to come grace the stage

Seemed to think his advise quite sage."

A figure shrouded in the emerald robes everyone had come to associate with Slytherin house appeared onstage, his head bowed.

"Who Blaise sang to, Merlin knows,

But he does care, that's what shows."

Blaise shrugged off slowly the robes and looked slowly out at the audience. His gaze slid out over the sea of faces, purposely not lighting on any one face in particular. He still didn't want to give away Draco's secret.

"Whomever's the subject, pay attention.

Blaise's subject was hard to mention.

He went to great lengths to speak to you,

And I suggest you see things through.

Think him wrong and you might see

Life turn out lonely as can be."

Blaise nodded in approval, his eyes roaming over to where Draco sat comfortably with Harry. A small smile twitched at the corners of Blaise's lips and he nodded again, letting his eyes wander again.

"Love's not something to play with lightly,

So just be sure you act rightly."

Draco cast a sideways glance at Harry, knowing that Dumbledore's words were directed at him, whether the headmaster himself knew it or not. And Draco also knew that he was already in the process of heeding the old man's advise. He wiggled his feet a bit in Harry's lap, gaining a nearly-disapproving smirk from the Gryffindor. He winked cheekily and glanced back at the stage where the headmaster was still singing.

"Following that came the uproar

That the next pair has been known for.

Fred and George had barely to appear on the stage in their scarlet robes before they were throwing off the velvet and digging into their pants pockets for sweets to toss.

"If decorum had been the edict,

Lawlessness from them I'd predict.

Raucous and rambunctious they

Always bring chaos to our day."

George and Fred were already pelting the crowd with sweets and goodies for their enjoyment. All over the Hall, there was noise of rattling candy papers and popping crackers, and people were cheering and clapping for the twins.

"Wild are the twin brothers Weasley,

Their energy stores aren't close to measly.

Of course they got your wide reception

Since yesterday was no exception.

They sang 'twins just wanna have fun,'

And so did we, once they were done."

The twins stopped pitching things into the audience and, in unison, swept into deep, matching bows. The Hall erupted into a frenzy of applause for the boys as they disappeared back to their seats. Dumbledore grinned at his students and then continued on.

"Next to last came a lone young man

Whose song told us more than most can."

Draco disappeared from Harry's side and appeared wrapped in the Slytherin colored velvet. His head was bowed and his hands clasped together.

"It takes a certain type of guy

To sit upon a stage and cry.

Draco here, he really gambled,

Hoping his words could be handled."

Draco shook of the hood of his robes, and shrugged them off. He glanced over at Harry and gave him a timid half smile. Harry smiled back, and Draco let his grin light the whole room. He swept the heavy velvet over his shoulder and struck an arrogant pose. He knew he sang well, and no matter what Dumbledore said, he wasn't going to let the subject matter of his song affect him like it had the night before.

"But no matter what response he got,

We all know he gave us a lot.

He showed us that courage is worth

More than most things on this earth.

And thanks are always best to give

When someone gives you motive to live."

Draco closed his eyes and nodded slowly before disappearing back to his seat. And just before Harry vanished so he could make his final appearance onstage, Draco could've sworn that he felt Harry's hand in his, squeezing. Draco's eyes fixed themselves on Harry, searching. For what, Draco really wasn't sure, but there was something there that he was looking for, and he was determined to figure out what it was. Meanwhile, the headmaster sang the praises of the last performer.

"Lastly, but of course never least

Was one who's fought most every beast.

A young man who has become legend

One on whose strength we oft depend."

Harry kept his face covered by the scarlet robes, his face just as red as the robes he was swathed in. He had always hated getting this much attention.

"Harry Potter, the humble lad

Came and sang with all he had.

He swore that he was nothing special

Though often times his help is crucial.

There was a bright flash, and once people could see through the darkness again, Harry's scarlet robes were gone, much to his chagrin. Harry was met with more cheers than were necessary, but he wasn't concerned with the audience as a whole. He just cared about one lone figure sitting in the olive loveseat. When he saw Draco smiling warmly up at him, Harry relaxed a bit.

"Last night he gave advise to heed,

For if you are ever in need,

Keep your eyes peeled, and look around.

There is always relief to be found."

Harry smiled warmly, first at Draco, and then at the rest of his schoolmates. Then he too disappeared from the stage, winding up in his seat again with Draco. The headmaster was just about done with his song, now that he'd reintroduced every act, but he still had a few things to sing.

"Over the night, you cried and laughed

And got to see some major gaffes.

But also you got to witness

How unity can bring great bliss.

Remember that the comp'ny you keep,

If he's a jerk or she's a creep,

Can be what brings you down at last

If you don't leave them in your past.

"Please remember to be kind.

See if there's common ground to find.

Your schoolmates are your future too

So better keep them close to you.

Strength can be found in strange places

And even in unfriendly faces.

"Keep your wits about you now,

Please make yourself a solemn vow.

Give second thoughts to all your foes,

For that may be where friendship grows.

Let rivalries get sit aside

And give up on that wretched pride.

Opt instead for friends and peers

Who will fight with you against your fears.

"Let hostile times be laid to rest

Because war o'er peace is never best."

Dumbledore let his eyes rove over the audience as he sang. Then his eyes crinkled into a big smile and he shook his head and clapped a hand to his forehead.

"Now here I am just rambling on

When you all wish to hear who won

I suppose now I'll end this chant

Since it's turned into more of a rant.

But once again let's all be proud

For all that stood before this crowd

Show your love and appreciation

For the singers and their creations

So now it's time, my song is done

And share who got places three, two, and one."

The entire audience started cheering loudly as Dumbledore swept into a deep bow. All over the Hall, the previous night's performers started sitting up straighter in their seats, hoping they were going to hear their names called out as prize winners. All except Neville, that is, who was still wearing his "CHEATER!" robes. Apparently the penalty for trying to vote for yourself more than once was not only disqualification, but whoever it was had to wear the "CHEATER!" robes till the end of the contest.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. He conjured up a glass of water and took a good long sip. "All that singing makes a body thirsty," he announced with a smile. A few people chuckled softly. "Now," he said, "I believe there are some prizes to give out." The crowd erupted again, excited that they were finally going to learn who won the singing contest. In the seat next to Harry, Draco had sat up from his lounging position. He looked now like he was about to scamper up and pounce on Dumbledore should the headmaster call his name. Harry smiled and just shook his head.

"Could I have the other judges come up and join me please?" Dumbledore gestured toward the four Heads of House and smiled. The audience clapped politely as all four stood and moved toward the stage. Snape had come back at some point in the last couple minutes, completely dry again after his .

Dumbledore glanced up toward the ceiling. "I think this moment calls for a bit more light, don't you? Watch your eyes now!" He waved a hand and the candles that were still floating overhead flickered to life. Dumbledore gave everyone a minute so their eyes could adjust to the sudden change of lighting. Then he smiled again.

"Right. We shall start from third place and work our way up, if you don't mind. Minerva, if you please?" He turned to look at McGonagall. She was carrying the Chest of Judgement up to center stage. He smiled at her and nodded as she set the stool down. "Thank you."

"So. The winner of third place, who will receive twenty-five points for his house and a gift certificate for Zonko's Joke Shop, is…" He opened the lid to the Chest slowly. The insides of the Chest glowed, and then there was a clunk, like a heavy, metal something had just hit the bottom of the Chest. Dumbledore reached in and took out a large, bronze-colored coin and smiled as he read the name that was engraved on the coin. "Blaise Zabini of Slytherin House! Come on up, lad!"

Blaise's eyes got wide when Dumbledore called for him. He hadn't really expected any recognition at all. He felt quite a few hands on his back, pushing him into a standing position and then toward the stage. He shook his head and started to the stage where Snape was handing Dumbledore a trophy and a square-shaped envelope that Blaise guessed what the gift certificate.

Still stunned, Blaise climbed the steps to the stage and grinned. The headmaster passed over the coin that had come from the Chest, and then Blaise's trophy and gift certificate. "Thank you," Blaise said politely. Then he turned to the audience and gave a wave. They whooped and cheered in appreciation. When he glanced over at Draco, he couldn't help but grin even harder. His best friend was going mad, screaming and cheering. Blaise could even hear his voice carrying over the others.

"Yeah Blaise! Well done! That's my mate! That's my best mate, that is!"

Blaise grinned and pointed at Draco with his trophy. Draco yelled louder and pointed back with both hands. Then Blaise began to inspect the trophy he had in his hands. There was a large bronze eighth-note on top of a black marble pedestal. Slithering over and around the music note was a small silver snake. It looked up at him and hissed softly, and then continued to wriggle its way around the note. Blaise grinned and then looked back out at the audience. He threw his hand into the air again, holding the trophy high. The audience roared again.

"All right, all right, Mister Zabini. We're all quite proud of you. But we must get on with things." Dumbledore winked at Blaise, whose face tinged at bit pink. He put his arm down and stepped off to the side so Dumbledore could bring up the next winner.

"So. Second place goes to-" The Chest glowed again, and there was the same kind of clunk as before, followed by the chink of metal on metal. The headmaster reached into the Chest again and pulled out a pair of silver coins. "Well, now. This is interesting." He smiled out at the audience and raised an eyebrow. "Ladies and gents, we have a tie." A murmur went over the crowd, everyone wondering who tied with whom. "Second place, fifty points to each of their Houses, and a night out in Muggle London goes to Mister Harry Potter of Gryffindor House and Mister Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House!" The entire Hall roared its approval as Draco and Harry stared at each other. All at once, each boy was being pulled toward the stage, but in opposite directions from each other. Ron and Hermione tugged on Harry's arms, pulling him out of his seat and toward them. They both hugged him fiercely, congratulating him and pushing him down the row to the rest of his housemates. Everyone was clapping him on the back and grinning like crazy. Harry glanced over his shoulder and saw that Draco was getting the same treatment from his House.

Finally, they each managed to find the aisle leading to the stage and they met in front of Dumbledore. "Congratulations, gentlemen. I do hope you can get along on your trip to London together." He smiled warmly as the boys' Heads of House handed him their trophies, and he passed them along to each in turn, along with their own engraved coins.

Draco grinned down at the trophy. It looked similar to Blaise's in that it had the music note and the snake mounted on the same black marble. The note itself was silver, like the squirming snake. But there was an added touch to his and Harry's trophies. There was a small gold lion prowling around on the flat surface of the pedestal, underneath the music note. The snake hissed and the tiniest roar came from the lion. Draco grinned and looked over at Harry. He was hissing back at the snake, it seemed.

"Well, thank you. I didn't expect to get a prize myself," Harry said in parseltongue. He smiled at the snake and the small gold lion on his own trophy and glanced up at Draco. A matching grin spread over the two boys' faces and, without another thought, they threw their arms around each others' shoulders. They thrust their free hands toward the ceiling, holding up their trophies high. The crowd full of their peers screamed and hooted in delight and approval of the two boys that had been so set against each other now embracing as though they'd always been friends.

"Yes, yes. Well done, Harry. Well done, Draco. Now move off to the side, please. We've one more award to present." Dumbledore smiled at the unlikely pair, wondering to himself whether there was any need to worry at all over the two boys going off to London together. Harry and Draco moved over to where Blaise was cheering for Draco and trying to clap around the Zonko's certificate and his own trophy. When Draco reached him, they pulled each other into a tight hug and shared a few quite congratulatory words. Then Draco stepped back and Harry held out his hand to Blaise, who took it gladly. Meanwhile, Dumbledore was trying to get his students' attention for his final pronouncement.

"May I have your attention! Attention please! We've one more prize to award, and I'd like to do it before the sun comes up, please!" Dumbledore winked at his students and many of them chuckled lightly. The noise died away and everyone was now sitting on pins and needles, waiting for the name of the winner of the contest.

"And now. First prize is one hundred points for their house, one hundred Galleons, and a grand trip for four to any wizarding community they want. First prize goes to-" The Chest glowed once more, for much longer this time, and then a solid clunk, was heard throughout the Hall, followed by several metal chinks, like there were more than just two coins rattling around in the Chest. Dumbledore reached into the Chest and pulled out a small stack of gold coins. He smiled broadly as he read what was printed on them. "The winners of the contest are Ernie MacMillan of Hufflepuff House, Terry Boot of Ravenclaw House, Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House, and Harry Potter of Gryffindor House. Ladies and gentlemen, your Quidditch Captains!"

Harry and Draco looked at each other on the stage and hooted loudly. They rushed forward as Terry and Ernie dashed up from the audience. Harry caught Ernie's hand with one hand and tossed the opposite arm around his back as Draco did the same with Terry. "We won!" Terry and Harry cried cheerfully as Ernie and Draco shouted "All right!"

The boys were all celebrating with each other as their Heads of House each tried to pass the trophies up to Dumbledore. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brightly as the four captains danced and shouted. He couldn't even hear himself think for the all calamity going on in the audience. No one House was celebrating more than the others, as all four had a performer in the first place spot. Everyone was cheering and jumping up and down, hugging their neighbors and yelling joyously.

"Well done, captains! Good show!" Dumbledore smiled. "Here, gentlemen- Your trophies and coins." Dumbledore held out his hands flat, the four identical coins sitting there, engraving side up. Then he turned and collected two of the trophies, passing them to Terry and Ernie. Then he passed the other two to Harry and Draco, whose hands were now full of trophies. The four boys gathered together and turned to the audience, pumping their hands up and down and hollering.

Harry grinned as he glanced at his new trophy. This one had a gold note instead of silver. And in addition to the gold lion and the silver snake, a bronze eagle was perched at the top, flapping its wings, and a shining black badger was shuffling around with the lion. Harry looked round the room at his schoolmates celebrating and his grin nearly split his face. He threw an arm around Draco again and threw the hand with his new trophy up in triumph.

Colin Creevey stood up on the couch where he'd been sitting and put his camera to his eye. He captured a shot of the four captains with their arms around each other, holding their trophies high. Ernie and Terry were laughing together about something, and Draco and Harry had their arms around each other's shoulders, beaming at each other. The trophies they'd gotten for their second place performances were in the hands draped down over their chests and the new first place trophies were held aloft.

No one really knew how the chaos that resulted from the captains' win actually calmed down, but it did eventually. Dumbledore dismissed the school soon after, shooing them off to bed as their bedtimes had all come and gone.

The Quidditch captains all agreed that they would meet up the next morning to decide where they would be going on their trip. And Harry and Draco agreed they would plan out their own trip to London the next day as well. With all that settled, everyone split off to go to their own Houses. Trophies, pouches full of Galleons, and certificates were gathered, and the winners of the contest went off to bed.

In Gryffindor Tower that night, Harry's smile hadn't yet faded. As he set his trophies on the shelf by his bed, his roommates clapped him on the back and congratulated him once more. He nodded in gratitude, too hoarse from all his yelling to speak, and climbed into bed. It had been a wonderful and crazy night that night, and he wanted nothing more to get himself some sleep. As he dozed off, he carried off with him a single image. Draco grinned at him in his mind's eye, his arm clenched tight around Harry's shoulders, his lips forming the words, "We did it, mate!"

TBC


	24. Chapte 24: Planning

****

Chapter Twenty-Four

Planning

Next morning, Harry awoke late, and in a cheerful sort of daze. He stretched lazily, his eyes still closed, head still buried in the pillow. His mind's eye was replaying the events of the last forty-eight hours.

He recalled with a sleepy smile his performances with his roommates, and then his fellow Captains. Then he remembered the chats with Draco on the Main Staircase, and then in Snape's classroom. And finally, his smile spread wide across his face as he relived the awards ceremony from the night before, ending in his winning not one, but two trips, one to London and one to wherever he and his newfound friends chose. And that huge grin of Draco's danced before him. The grin directed _at him_. Harry sighed contentedly, rolled onto his back, and stretched again. He sat up, yawning and finally opened his eyes to look around the room.

It seemed he was the last of his roommates to rise that morning. Harry glanced at his watch and saw it was nearly eleven. Startled, he hopped out of bed and began getting dressed and ready for his day. He grinned as he did so, knowing that in a couple short hours, he, Draco, Terry, and Ernie would be planning their big trip. The excitement this thought brought him made Harry get dressed even faster.

After lunch, Harry stood and bid Ron and Hermione a good afternoon, saying that he'd see them after everything for his trip with the Captains was set.

Harry met Draco at the doors to the Great Hall and smiled warmly at the Slytherin. "Hey."

"Afternoon, Potter." Draco inclined his head, a smile in his eyes.

"We're back to surnames again, hmm?" Harry smirked as he opened the door and motioned Draco through.

Draco nodded in thanks. "Old habits die hard, I guess. Also, we've not actually agreed on the use of given names. I wouldn't dare assume. But if that's the way you'd like things, I wouldn't be adverse to it." He shrugged as the two of them moved off toward the Library. Harry grinned. "Draco it is, then."

Draco nodded again, looking quite lost in thought. They moved in silence for a while. Eventually, Harry's nosy side got the best of him. "What're you thinking about?"

Draco shook himself out of his reverie and glanced sideways at Harry. "Just… We've got quite the story, you and me. Quite the history."

Harry nodded. "That's true. Who would've thought that the bratty little boy I met at Madam Malkin's that reminded me of my jack-arse cousin Dudley would turn out to be not too bad and, in fact, a friend of mine?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. " 'Bratty little boy,' hmm?" He smirked. "I didn't think you'd remember that."

Harry glanced over at Draco as they walked. "Of course I remember. You were the very first kid that I met that was a wizard like me." Harry's lips twitched at the corners for a second. "But, like I said. You were just like my cousin. I was just praying that not all wizards were as impossible as you."

Draco made a face at Harry. "How was I supposed to know that you were not only raised by Muggles, but you were_ the_ Harry Potter. I'm sure I would've been at least slightly more tolerable."

Harry laughed outright then. "I'm sure."

They reached the Library then. Draco pulled the door open for Harry. Harry gave Draco a lopsided grin and stepped into the Library.

When Harry and Draco walked into the Quidditch section of the Library, Terry was already waiting. Though, if the boys hadn't known any better, they would have thought he was studying. He was so engrossed in the book he had in his hands that he didn't notice Draco and Harry sit down across the table from him. Draco had to kick his shin under the table to pull the Ravenclaw's nose out of the book.

Before he got the chance to tell off whoever it was that kicked him, Terry looked up and realized who it was. His face looked as though it was trying to figure out whether he wanted to grin or grimace. "Ouch," he muttered, rubbing his shin. Then he looked around. "Where's Ernie?"

"Right here, mate. Right here," Ernie said, hurrying up to the table. " 'Ello, chaps! How goes it?" The other three answered with vague responses along the lines of 'just fine.' "Good, good." He pulled out the chair facing Harry and next to Terry and sat down. "So, gents, where're we off to? Any ideas?" He grinned around at the others.

Harry shrugged. "I'm up for just about anything. Just, no London. I think we've all been to Diagon Alley enough, don't you?"

Draco nodded. "Besides, you and I are already off to London ourselves."

"I agree." Terry glanced around at the others. "Let's just agree now… Nowhere in England or Ireland or Wales, okay? No United Kingdom at all. Yeah?" The rest nodded in agreement. "Right," he continued. "We've got that settled. So where _will_ we be going then?"

"Well, we could go to France, or Germany… Italy…" Ernie was ticking off a finger for every country he mentioned. "The States. Spain…" He switched his attention to the other hand and was about to start in on more countries when Harry leaned forward and clapped a hand over Ernie's.

"Enough," said Harry, releasing Ernie's hands. "I think we get the point. How about we do it this way… Do any of you know another language? I don't know anything more than English myself. The Muggle school I went to didn't teach us anything." He looked at his fellow Captains. Ernie shook his head.

"I know a few choice French words, but that's about all," said Terry, grinning sheepishly. "I don't much think being able to call a French man an ugly old bastard would really help us get around France much."

The others laughed. Then Harry looked at Draco, who had gone a bit quiet. Draco glanced back, turning slightly pink under Harry's gaze. He muttered something, looking down at his hands. Harry leaned closer and asked softly, "Could you repeat that, please?"

Draco sighed, flushed more, and spoke up. "I'm fluent in French and Italian. My father forced me to learn them."

Harry threw an arm around Draco's shoulders and grinned at Terry and Ernie. "Well, it looks like our choices have been narrowed down considerably…" Harry smirked. "Unless we all want to learn a language from scratch." He looked over at Draco. "Would you mind tutoring the three of us in basic French or Italian, mate?"

Draco looked at Ernie's and Terry's enthusiastic faces, and then at Harry's. "Well, er-" He looked at Harry again. How could he resist that look on Harry's face. "I- Well, I guess so…" He bit his lip. Then he sighed. "What the hell. Why not." Terry, Ernie, and Harry cheered, and were shushed quickly by a grumpy Madam Pince. They quieted down, and Harry, his arm still around Draco, squeezed Draco's shoulder briefly and then dropped his arm. "So." He grinned again. "Where to?"

Ernie leaned forward. "I've heard Venice and Naples are fabulous and all, but Pompeii. I've heard Pompeii is just incredible. Everybody who's anybody in the magical part of Italy goes to Pompeii. Plus," Ernie paused for effect. "It's not too far from Rome. Maybe a couple hours' ride. And you know what's in Rome?"

"Loads of things," said Terry shrugging. But Draco was sitting forward anxiously.

"The Coliseum!" he cried excitedly. He turned to Harry and grabbed his forearm. "It's where the Italian Quidditch team plays!"

"Exactly!" crowed Ernie excitedly.

Harry was staring back and forth between Draco and Ernie, trying to concentrate on the conversation they were having, and not the tingling skin where Draco's hand was still resting. "Wait- but… Pompeii? That's the city that was destroyed centuries ago, isn't it? All the place is, is rubble- Isn't it?" Harry turned a questioning gaze toward Draco. "How can that be a big wizard city, unless-"

Draco nodded. "A Concealment Charm. An incredibly strong one. An incredibly old one. Plus Muggle Repelling Charms, and things like that."

"Okay, but- What about the Coliseum, though!" Harry was still a bit thrown from the revelation that Pompeii wasn't more than a few piles of rubble. "It's been a crumbled-down mess for hundreds of years… how can it-"

But Terry was nodding enthusiastically. "You're thinking like a Muggle, mate! The Romans _knew_ how to build things. I mean, just look at the tower at Pisa. Don't think that's just held up by sheer architectural genius, do you?"

Harry still looked incredulous, but he laughed. "Wow. I've never thought of that." He chuckled again.

"Anyway," said Ernie, turning their attentions back to their trip. "If we time it right, we could go see a game… Maybe even England or Ireland or someone." The other three were nodding, excited again.

"Sounds great, Ernie," Terry said with a grin, clapping Ernie on the back.

"Great idea," said Harry. "So when are we going to go?"

"I think we've got to discuss our trip with Dumbledore. Tell him where we want to go and all that. Then he'll probably tell us when we can go," said Draco, a thoughtful look on his face for the second time that afternoon. "I wonder…"

"What, Draco?" asked Harry, cocking his head to the side.

"Well," Draco started, "I was just wondering. Are there going to be chaperones, or are they going to just set four teenagers loose in a foreign country?"

Terry scratched the back of his head. "I guess that's another thing we need to ask Dumbledore."

Everyone nodded. Harry stood up. "Well. What are we waiting for? Let's go have a spot of tea with the headmaster."

Terry, Draco, and Ernie grinned up at him, and then each rose to his feet.

"Let's go," said Ernie.

Terry patted Harry on the back. "Good idea."

Draco grinned. "Lead the way, Oh Holy Potter."

Harry pulled a face at Draco. But then they all laughed and walked out of the Library, chatting loudly and gaining another nasty glare from Madam Pince as they passed the front desk.

"Pompeii. An excellent choice, gentlemen." Dumbledore smiled at them all, the old familiar twinkle in his eye as usual. "A favorite spot of mine..."

"Yes, sir." Harry jumped in, hoping to catch him before he started reminiscing about some trip of other. "We've got a few questions, if that's all right."

"Go right ahead." Dumbledore relaxed into his chair, taking his tea with him.

"First thing," started Draco, glancing at the other boys, "Are we going to have chaperones with us, or are we going to be on our own?"

The headmaster sat quietly for a moment, obviously thinking through his answer before he gave it. Finally, after a dozen sips of his tea- yes, Harry counted- Dumbledore responded. "I believe that I speak for most of your professors when I say that we are impressed and proud of you four for your maturity, and for the courage to stand together without being asked. That effort on your parts has gained you the respect of your fellow students, your professors, and me." He took another sip of his tea- number thirteen... Harry was worried that all this was precursor to a "but," and frowned, impatient. "All that being said," Dumbledore continued, "we have all agreed that the four of you should probably be safe together, without chaperones."

Four grins shone at Dumbledore, one from each boy's face, and they all let out celebratory whoops of joy. Dumbledore smiled back warmly, holding up a hand to calm them. "If I might finish..." The boys quieted down, hoping their bubbles weren't about to be burst by the headmaster. "You will be without chaperone, but not without contact with your professors. Each of you are to be in contact with your Heads of House every day of your trip. Your Heads of House have agreed on allowing you to firechat with them either once you rise and are about to begin your day, or before you retire for the night. This is to ensure your safety for our own consciences and for your parents' piece of mind. If you all of you do not happen to contact your respective House Heads, they are likely to show up when you least expect it, and I am quite sure that if they have to Apparate all the way to Italy, they are not going to be all that pleased with you."

The boys glanced at each other and grinned. That wasn't a problem. A firechat apiece daily, and no chaperones? They were ecstatic. Draco nodded, a grin wide across his face. "That sounds acceptable."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Glad to hear it. Any other questions?"

Ernie spoke up. "Yeah- D'you think we might be able to go at a time when we could stop at the Coliseum for a Quidditch match?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I believe that could be arranged."

The boys grinned around at each other again. This was going to be one fabulous trip. Harry sat forward in his seat, eager for the trip. There was one last thing...

"So, sir," started Terry, reading Harry's mind. "When can we go?"

Dumbledore chuckled again. "Whenever you please, gentlemen. As long as it does not interfere with your studies, you can go any time. I suggest you acquire tickets to a match and plan your trip around that." He took another sip from his teacup and smiled at them. "Anything more?"

"No, I don't believe so, sir," said Harry, glancing at the others for confirmation. There were shrugs and heads shaking, so Harry took that to mean they were finished. "I think we're set for now."

"Well then. Why don't you go and enjoy the rest of your Sunday afternoon?" He smiled and finished off his tea.

Terry, Ernie, Draco, and Harry took that as their sign to go, and all four of them stood and made their way out of the office. They all went their separate ways once they arrived at the Entrance Hall. Before they left, Draco caught Harry by the arm.

"Hey, Harry..." He smiled at Harry and Harry grinned back, turning to face him.

"What can I do for you?" Harry tipped his head to the side, curious.

"We've still got our trip to plan," Draco reminded him.

Harry snapped his fingers and pointed at Draco, just remembering about their own trip. "Yes! That's right! When do you want to?"

Draco checked his watch and then shrugged. "After dinner?"

Harry checked his own watch. Almost dinner time. "Sure. Sounds good. Meet at the doors to the Great Hall like we did after lunch?"

Draco nodded, grinning. "All right. See you then, Harry."

Harry grinned back. "See you," he said. Draco started off toward the Slytherin dormitory as Harry watched. Harry waited, wondering if Draco was going to turn. "If he turns around, he fancies me," muttered Harry, starting to walk backward toward the main staircase. "Come _on..._ Turn around," he whispered.

Draco was about to disappear down the hallway, and Harry's heart sank until- Draco turned, saw with surprise that Harry was still watching, and he gave Harry a little wave. Harry's heart soared and he waved back. Simultaneously, the boys turned and scampered off to their respective Common Rooms, each grinning broadly. Harry knew from then on that their trip to London was going to be a very, _very_ good trip.

TBC


End file.
